And then things became fucked up.

Tally reminded Al of Winry. Not because she was pretty, or blonde, or mechanics-obsessed. She wasn't any of those things. No, because she and Ed argued.

A lot.

Currently, the two were just glaring at each other in very not-so-subtle manners. But that made him just as uncomfortable as he would have been if they had started wrestling right on the spot. He had never liked choosing sides, either. Not to mention, he wasn't quite sure where his brother's negative feelings towards Tally had sprouted from. She seemed nice. A bit quirky, but nice. It had only gotten worse then they had gotten on the train, and Tally had said, "By the way, my name isn't Elphie. It's Tally."

"But Beth said it was Elphie..." Al had said.

Tally had just shrugged, her cheeks tinted red, looking down at her lap. "That was sort of a nickname. My name is Tally."

If anything, that had done nothing but raise Ed's suspicion of her.

Al shifted a bit in his seat, staring out the window. His day hadn't been going very well, either. Here he was, stuck on a smelly train, heading to town that he could only hope would have some good information. But after years of false leads, he wasn't so sure. He could only try to keep his optimism up. Because what did he have, if he didn't have hope?

Not much, that was for sure.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he heard. Al looked up to see Tally get up and out of her seat, rushing out of their train car, obviously trying to get away from the awkward tension.

As soon as she was gone, Ed sighed, "I don't see why she can't just walk to Grodowne."

Al gave him a sarcastic look. "You know why; it's too far away."

"Yeah, but now we have to take her..." he complained.

Alphonse shook his head. Edward had always been one to whine openly. He disliked hiding useless emotions. "She's not that bad."

"She's annoying."

"Brother, you've barely said a few words to her, besides insults."

"Yeah, well, I have good ... annoying radar."

Al giggled. "Sure you do."

There was a minute of silence before Al piped up, "Hey, Ed. Do you think we'll get a lead this time?"

Ed sighed, before straightening in his seat. "I don't know, Al. But I've got a good feeling about this one."

"Me, too."

Tally decided to come back at this point, taking a seat beside Alphonse. Ed immediately stiffened when she did.

"Hi," she said awkwardly. "What were you guys doing?"

She said it quietly, like she was forcing herself to make conversation. Al suspected she was.

"Hi," he greeted her anyway, always the polite one. Ed grunted. Tally ignored him.

"What were you guys doing?" she asked again.

"Nothing," Edward said quickly, not even looking at her. Tally glared.

"Just talking," Alphonse said. "We're gonna be arriving at Grodowne pretty soon."

The brunette shifted in her seat, obviously uncomfortable. Al felt a twinge of sympathy. It was never pleasant, having to face a fear head on, no matter what that fear happened to be.

"Great," she said halfheartedly.

"And we'll drop you off there and we'll just get our stuff done," Ed said.

Tally shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Good luck with ... with whatever you guys are trying to do."

"Thanks." Short answer, short talk.

"So what's going on with your memory?" Al asked. Ed sent him a questioning look, obviously not expecting that question.

Tally shook her head. "It's complicated. Long story short, I woke up, Beth took me in, and I don't remember where I came from or anything like that."

"Just like that?" Edward sounded disbelieving.

"Just like that. I told you, it's complicated. And weird." She observed her fingernails with a frightening intensity.

"That's rare," Ed said skeptically.

"I know. That's why I'm going all the way to this random city to get a doctor." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, Grodowne is known for its medical care," Al said. "I'm sure they'll help you find a solution."

She smiled. "Thanks."

The rest of the ride was silent.

Grodowne was much bigger and bolder than tiny little Kriasin, a fact that had Tally overjoyed. It was also quite inhabited, with people at nearly every corner, kids especially. This town obviously spends a lot of time fucking, she thought solemnly.

Mostly, she was just glad to be able to get out of that horrible, smelly train. From here, she could go fake her doctor's appointment, grab a map, and hop on the nearest train to Winevra, while the Elric Nerds did whatever research they had to do. She could ditch them easily, the same way she did school.

And at the 's' word, a familiar pang of homesickness struck her, and she pushed it away. Focus.

"Well," she said, hopping off the train and pasting a smile on her face. "Thanks for all your help, but I'll be on my way now-"

"Not so fast!" Edward interrupted. "Beth's making us follow you."

She paled. Her plan was disintegrating! All thanks to Beth's overprotectiveness! "I don't need bodyguards," she huffed, sticking her flat chest out. "I can take care of myself."

Ed rolled his eyes. "It's to make sure you actually go to the doctor's."

"Oh." Tally's brain immediately filled in the blanks. All she had to do was wait until the doctor's appointment was over, and then sneak out while Ed and Al were in the library or whatever. Perfect! She was a genius! She smiled as Ed picked up the pace, rushing past her. For once, she was happy to follow behind him. It took all she had not to skip all the way to the doctor's office, because a sudden change of mood would be more suspicious than anything.

There was quite a number of medical facilities in Grodowne. Every which way she glanced, there would be different buildings that read things like: Jenkins Medical Care, Dr. Henry McMiller's Office and Lily Hermings Practice. She looked up at Alphonse. "Which one do we pick?"

Al shrugged. "I don't know. Brother, did Beth give us a specific name?"

Edward shook his head, not even looking back. "She said to pick 'the best'." His voice sounded mocking.

"What's the best?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well, I just thought-"

"That one looks nice!" Al blurted, before the two could get at each other again. When two pairs of heads swiveled to face him, he lifted a finger and pointed it at a huge building, bigger than the others. This one didn't have a specific title. It simply read, Grodowne Professional Health Care Center. It was rectangular and bland and grey. Tally had a sudden urge to graffiti all over it with neon paint to add some life and personality to it, the way she used to do with her room. Song lyrics and quotes and pictures and-

Focus, she told herself. Don't get distracted.

"Well, here it is, then," Ed muttered, turning and walking in the direction of the building. Tally rolled her eyes and then quickened her pace until she broke into a run. She got there before him, and smirked as the Elrics reached the center after her. It may have been nothing to them, but to her, it meant she was slightly ahead of life, in her own way.

Cue the fucking up.

The doctor was old and balding and smelled like tuna fish.

Tally felt uncomfortable, squirming in her seat on the hospital bed as went through the usual checkup procedure. She wished she could find a way to clog up her nostrils, because she hated the smell of tuna fish. But since she couldn't, she just squirmed and counted all the posters on the wall. One, two, three, four, five, six-

"Well, mostly everything seems to be in order."

Tally looked up, expecting the doctor's words, but relieved to hear them just the same. "Great!" she exclaimed. "So I can go now?"

A chuckle escaped Dr. Tuna Fish's lips. "Not quite. We'll have to go through a couple more tests. Starting with a blood test."

All the color seemed to drain from her face. "B-Blood test?"

It seemed to take forever until her appointment was finally done. Tally was still dressed in her horribly tacky hospital gown, in a dreadful light-blue-meets-navy color. She stomped down the hallways, cursing the light and doctors and Beth and everything. She rubbed the band aid on her left arm, where the doctor had taken blood about an hour ago. After that came only more tests, each one weirder than the last.

None of them had any sort of advanced technology or anything special that she expected to see in such a huge medical hospital. She brushed it off, though, assuming it was simply due to the fact that she was in some rural place filled with wannabe 1900s-geeks. Soon, she would be back in Winevra, with her friends and family and life back.

The hallway was generally empty, save for a few nurses pushing carts of food into rooms, and a doctor writing on his clipboard, eyebrows furrowed, probably making notes on a patient. Tally felt quite out of place in her ugly gown. She took random twists and turns through the hospital, looking around for Edward and Alphonse. Her plan was to wander around for a few more minutes and - if she ended up in yet another storage closet - ask for help only if she couldn't find the waiting room.

As she took a left turn, she noticed another person walking down the hall. This person was very hard to miss, with long masses of red waves. She was thin, with flawless skin. Tally couldn't see her face from across the hall, but judging from her body and hair, she was probably pretty. The closer Tally got to her, the more she could see: a tiny nose, narrow eyes, thin eyebrows, light lips. And it took one second for recognition to slap her in the face, cold and uninviting.

Darcy.

The redhead recognized Tally at the same time Tally realized it was her. Two pairs of eyes widened, eyebrows rose up, up, and Tally's jaw fell. Darcy, however, twisted her lips into an unflattering snarl. She walked over, her pace quickening until she was almost running. When the two were face to face, she grabbed onto Tally's sweaty, shaking hand and lead her to the girls' bathroom, pushing her inside and rushing in along with her while Tally came up with excuses, thousands of them, as to why this was happening to her. God hates me and Darcy has a look alike and This is one big dream and I'm going to wake up and laugh it off in the morning. A pinch from her fingers, however, rendered the last theory useless.

Darcy. Darcy Robertson. The girl who she had hated since freshman year, when Darcy had told Tally her new dress was 'tacky', in front of her entire class. It wasn't any of her friends here. Not Justin. Not Maddie. Hell, not even her mom!

No. Her murderer was here.

The sound of the bathroom door's lock clicking shut shocked her back into reality. She took a quick step back from Darcy, eyes wide, heart racing. If she had been killed once, Darcy could do it again! She scanned the redhead quickly, taking in her hospital gown. It had no pockets, and was sleeveless. No bulges. Her hair was brushed back neatly. No where to hide a knife or a gun or a baseball bat. This realization calmed her down by only a degree.

She could always kill her with her bare hands.

Before she could say anything, Darcy spat: "You."

Tally gulped. "Wh-Wh-What-"

"You," she repeated. "It's you. It's your fault I'm here. All. Your. Fault!"

The brunette couldn't believe her ears. "Me? What ... How ... Why ... What did I do?"

Darcy's eyes were wild, animal. She shook her head. "Oh, don't play stupid. You know what you did. You and your damn, klutzy self!"

The gravity of the situation fell on Tally's shoulders all at once: Darcy was accusing her! She thought it was her fault, her actions that had lead the two of them here!

Here she was, standing in front of a girl. This girl had teased and bullied her for months. She had hurt her physically and verbally. And she had pushed her in front of an oncoming car. And now here she was, insisting that everything was her fault.

Push. Push. Push. Pushed until her buttons broke and her bones shattered.

Tally squared her shoulders, glaring. "Oh. Oh! Is that what you think? It's my fault I was hit by a fucking car?"

Darcy's eyes flashed with something, but it passed too quick for Tally to see what it was. "I know-"

"Well, you're wrong!" she snapped, leaning forward, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "Last time I checked, you killed me."

Darcy inhaled sharply, eyes widening. She took a step back. "No. No, that's not true, damnit..." She shook her head, as if trying to awaken herself from a trance. "You started it. Pushing me down first. That dress was expensive-"

"I don't care about your stupid dress!" It should have been anyone here, anyone but her. "In case you haven't noticed, we're stuck here! Alone! And no one has even heard of Winevra!"

Darcy gave her a look. Tally was almost grateful to see the sarcastic gesture, because it reminded her of the old I-have-everything-together-all-the-time Darcy, not the girl who seemed near hysteria at the moment. "Well, duh!" The redhead said with a roll of her eyes. "It doesn't exist here, idiot."

Tally blinked. "What?"

"Oh, you don't know, do you?" She giggled. "You are one clueless little girl, aren't you?"

Tally balled her hands into fists by her sides. Each snicker that escaped Darcy's lips felt like a personal insult, a slap in the face. Like she knew something she didn't.

She didn't like it.

Pushing and pushing and pushing.

"Quit bullshitting me!" she nearly screamed. "Where am I? Why am I here? Why are you here with me?"

Another giggle. "I didn't know you were that stupid..."

Tally's patience was quickly wearing thin, her blood burning, eyes narrowing, and toes curling in. She was about to snap, say something truly horrible, when Darcy's sneering tone sneaked back into her ears like a snake.

"Well, I don't know where we are, exactly, but it's not on Earth."

Pop!

All the pent up anger and frustration whizzed out of Tally like a dead balloon, replaced by confusion. She blinked. Once. Twice. "What ... what are you ... what...?"

Liar. You're lying to me. You're trying to make a fool out of me.

"We're not on Earth anymore," Darcy said, as if this was a perfectly normal statement. "Another dimension, actually."

It was Tally's turn to giggle. She couldn't help it. The idea that they were just casually chilling in another dimension ... well, that was crazy! And impossible. She wasn't stupid. Not smart, but not a total idiot, either. And she hated being tricked.

"Yeah," she said, laughing. "And Chanel isn't a genius."

The redhead gripped her hips. "Fine, then. You don't believe me?"

"Duh. You have no proof. Besides, how stupid is that? We're in an alternate dimension? Seriously?"

Darcy swept her arm around the bathroom, as if the proof to her theory was lying somewhere deep among the forgotten pieces of toilet paper that littered the floor and the last drips of hand soap. "Everything about this place is ... different."

"Different," Tally repeated, staring.

"Yes, different."

"Different how?" she challenged, crossing her arms.

There was a five second silence, in which Tally was sure she had won. But then Darcy blurted, "Phones!"

"..." Tally replied.

"You haven't seen a single cell phone here, have you? In Winevra, people wave those things around everywhere. But here? Not one! For Christ's sake, I didn't even see any in Central!"

This was true, yes. But perhaps it was just an extremely weird coincidence. Not enough proof. But something was stirring in Tally's stomach. Beth had had a phone. An old fashioned one, odd buttons and all. But that didn't mean the supernatural was occurring. It couldn't.

"Right?"

Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, she swallowed. "So? That can't be all, right? I mean-"

"The cars. No Toyota, or Dodge, or Ford. There all old, too! I saw a model from our history textbooks back home!"

"B-But-"

"The architecture! The lack of technology!"

"..."

"The fashions, Tally!"

And that was all it took. Before she knew what was happening, tears were welling up in her eyes and she was struggling to blink them back. And then her knees felt weak and she shot a hand out to balance herself, using the wall. And then she was nearly sobbing, right in front of the girl who had killed her less than a week ago.

Darcy's explanation made sense. And that horrible little voice in her head had sprouted, once again taunting her mercilessly, telling her it was the cold, hard truth. The Voice was always right. Always. And then her stomach was clenching, like she was going to be sick, her brain putting together pieces of a puzzle she didn't want to see.

Because sure, Earth had its flaws. They had global issues and wars and fights and crap. Lots of it. But at the end of the day, Earth was her home. It had her friends and family and her dreams and passions and hopes and wishes. She didn't want to be separated from that. It was all she had ever known.

"Oh, please. Build a bridge and get over yourself."

Tally looked up at Darcy through eyes streaked with tears and anger. "What?" she hissed. "A-Are you insane? I'm finished! Done! No more! I'm away from home and friends and family and oh, God, Alexander McQueen! No more McQueen or Chanel or Gucci or Prada or-"

"Will you shut up?"

She shut up.

Darcy rubbed her forehead with her hand, evidently exasperated. "We have other problems, in case you haven't noticed. Like, I don't know, getting home?"

Tally hesitated for just a second before inhaling shakily and straightening. Her knees wobbled before righting themselves. "But ... how did you get here?"

All of a sudden, Darcy's cool-and-calm demeanor fell, and her shoulders slumped. She bit her lip, looking down at her hands and pulling at her long, pale fingers, one by one. "I don't know," she said, her voice quieter and shakier than Tally had ever heard her speak before. "I don't know how I got here, where here is, exactly, why I'm here with you..."

Tally tuned her out for just a second while she ran things over in her aching head. She wasn't on Earth anymore. She was in some random planet, or world, or dimension. Where she had no friends, no family, and no decent fashion. Where she was stuck with Darcy Robertson and annoying nerds and general chaos and shit and-

"Are you even listening to me?"

Tally blinked. "What?"

Darcy sighed at having to explain her plan again. "We have to do research. Study. Find out more about this place."

"We?" She narrowed her brown eyes. "Who said anything about 'we'?"

The redhead frowned. "Look. I'm smart, okay? You, however, are not so smart."

"Hey!" Tally began to protest, but Darcy glared, silencing her.

"But you have strengths," she said. "Combine my smarts and your strengths and we'll get home faster."

"Strengths? What strengths?"

"Advantages. You're good at thinking outside the box. Remember eighth grade art class? You were the only one who got higher than a C in that class. You're good at creative things and, as much as I hate to admit it, that's essential. This world relies on things other than science. Besides. You'll be a goner without me."

Tally examined the girl in front of her: mussed hair, gown slipping off a pale shoulder, eyes looking ... uncertain? For the first time in her life, Tally wasn't looking at her picture-perfect nemesis. Darcy look shaky. Nervous. Vulnerable.

Human.

And, so, before she knew what she was doing, she was murmuring an, "Okay." And then Darcy nodded, straightening back to her flawless poise. She turned around and began walking away, Tally jogging to keep up.

It took quite a while before the two girls stopped arguing long enough to devise a semi-decent plan. Tally summarized her story since she had arrived in Amestris, including the bits about her 'memory loss', and how she had fooled everyone so far. She nearly missed the approving smirk that crossed Darcy's lips. Nearly.

When Tally had asked Darcy about what had happened to her, she just told her to, "Shut up and mind your own business!"

The suspense was nearly killing her, but she resisted asking again, knowing it would do nothing but irk the teenager further.

"So you have no clue as to how to leave?" Darcy asked, as the two walked down the hospital hallway.

Tally shook her head. "Nope."

"Well, this isn't natural."

The brunette raised her eyebrows in mock astonishment."No, really?"

Darcy chose to ignore her blatant sarcasm. "And what's the opposite of natural?"

"Um ... man-made?"

"No, idiot! Supernatural!"

Tally stopped in her tracks, giving her frenemy an incredulous look. "You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all."

"Darcy, 'supernatural' means ghosts and zombies and stuff!"

An auburn eyebrow quirked. "Oh? And is our current situation so much more unrealistic than ghosts? 'Oh, hi, we're just wondering if you have any books on how to travel between dimensions?'"

"It's not dimensions!" Tally shot back. "It's just ... just..."

"Just what?"

"Something. Something. Nothing. I don't know." She still didn't quite believe Darcy's previous theory. It just hadn't sunk in yet. And, frankly, she didn't want to accept it; the less crazy she was, the better.

"You're an idiot," Darcy sighed., running a ahnd through her long waves. "We're studying supernatural things first. Best to get the crazy stuff out of the way."

"Fine," Tally muttered.

"Hey! Tally! Wait up!"

Both girls turned in the direction of the voice, only to find the Elric brothers running towards them. Tally paled by a fraction. Shit. She still had to get rid of them, before her plan could go into action. The last thing she needed was the Elric Nerds to get suspicious. And getting rid of them would prove to be difficult, what with their promise to Beth and all.

Edward stopped in front of her. "Done with your-" He seemed to notice Darcy, all of a sudden. And he actually scowled, as if he could sense how horribly bitchy she really was, how evil she was behind her innocent appearance.

"You!" he spat. "It's you again!"

Darcy smirked. "Well, hello, Elric Shrimp."

Edward was obviously about to blow up, judging by his face, red with rage, and his deepening scowl. Darcy would have been dead meat, if Al hadn't swooped in and grabbed him. Ed decided to rant instead.

"Who're you calling so small he can ride a beetle like a horse?" he demanded angrily.

"You," Darcy said.

"Argh!"

A nurse poked her head out of a patient's room. "Shhhhh!"

They shhhhed.

And as soon as the nurse disappeared, Tally turned to the two, confusion evident in her eyes. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait." She flapped a hand up in the air, looking between Darcy and Edward. "You guys ... You guys know each other...?"

Ed's frown deepened. "We met. Central."

"Central?" Tally turned to Darcy, wide-eyed. How long had she been here...? "When did you guys meet?"

"About a month ago," Alphonse said.

Month? How would Darcy have been here for months, when she had been here for barely a week?

"Well, that was certainly a fascinating experience, wasn't it?" Darcy drawled, sending a pointed look at Al, who shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

Ed swore under his breath and advanced forward. His left arm reeled back, ready to throw a punch. Once again, Al had to hold him back from possible murder. Tally just watched.

"What did you do?" she whisper-hissed to Darcy.

"Nothing much," was the smug reply. When Tally gave her a sharp look, she simply rolled her eyes and mouthed I'll tell you later.

"Come on, Tally." Ed's voice was tight with anger. "We're going to the library-"

"Too bad," Darcy cut in. "She's staying here. We have important business to discuss."

"What business?" In all the chaos, Tally had nearly forgotten Al was there. It was nice, though, to have a voice that wasn't yelling and screaming.

"Duh." The auburn-haired girl rolled her eyes. She seemed to be doing that a lot. She turned to Tally, gripping her hips. "Come on. Me or the shrimp?"

Ed sent her another death stare, but thankfully kept his mouth shut.

Tally looked at Edward. Then Darcy. Then Alphonse. She repeated this process a few times. If she went with Darcy, Ed would obviously hate her. It was clear he despised Darcy, after all. Not to mention, it wasn't as if she liked Darcy very much either. The girl had tortured her since seventh grade, with insults and pranks. And she constantly hit on Justin, despite how obvious it was he disliked her.

But going with Darcy had one advantage: Darcy was the smartest girl she knew. She always looked for knowledge and logic and more of it. How she managed to be a nerd and stay popular, Tally didn't know. But it also meant she had most likely already done research on how to get home. Or, if she hadn't, she probably knew how to find information, obviously far better than she did. And she was the one person who wouldn't believe Tally was crazy, if she chose to go public with her real story.

She was her one connection to home. And if she didn't go with her, Darcy would throw a big fit and leave her to rot. No help.

Her connection would be lost.

Her decision was made. Tally turned to the Elrics, trying to look apologetic. "I'll catch up with you at the library," she said quietly. For a second, she thought they hadn't heard her. But then Edward's eyebrows narrowed and he muttered a quick, "Fine," and stomped off. She automatically felt guilty. Focus, she told herself. You're supposed to get home. Making friends is useless.

Al gave her a long look. "Can you be there by five?" he asked.

Tally glancesd at the clock: 2:43 PM. She shifted her gaze to Darcy, who just frowned. "We'll be done when we're done," Darcy said. "Could be five, could be twelve. We'll see."

Tally sighed. "I'm sorry, Al. I'll be there by five, don't worry." She ignored Darcy's glare. Alphonse nodded and then he goes off, running to catch up with this brother.

"Those guys are weird, huh?" Tally said when they were gone. "The older is small, the younger is big. And they both like libraries. Do you think Al gets hot in that armor?"

Darcy gave her a look. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what?" Tally looked confused.

Darcy hesitated for a moment before blinking hard and shaking her head. "Nothing. It's nothing. Come on. We've gotta get a plan sorted out."

And off they went.

Ha ha. Yes, I'm an idiot. Trusting my enemy. Oh, genius, right?

Well, frankly, I think it played off okay.

But they were hiding something from me, the Elrics and Darcy. And so, being the complete weirdo that I am, I decided to 'investigate'.

You know what they say: curiosity killed the cat.

oooh. can this be? i've updated? le gasp! cue the trumpets, my fellow creative fountains!

i was going to wait a bit before updating but then this huge swarm of amazing amvs, fanfictions and fanart just popped up during the month of june, so i got this done. i guess it was just this huge blur of inspiration. :)

whatever it is, i'm pretty happy with this chapter. i think it could progress a bit more slowly, but i suppose it's alright.

and, yes, sticking darcy in was crucial. it was sort of a spur-of-the-moment decision, but i think it'll prove to be a good one. i mean, darcy is so much more ruthless and cruel than tally. she's willing to do things tally won't, tossing morals aside. because some of her actions might be cruel, but they also might be essential to helping the two get home.

as for romance, well, i suppose it'll be progressing slowly. very, very slowly. no making out in dark corners until chapter eight!

haha, i'm just joking.

but seriously, i'm sorry if any of my readers were wanting fast romance, but i want to focus more on the action and adventure of the story, for now. and for a long time. because action kicks ass. romance kisses ass.

which sounds better, hm?

and now, it's time for ... review replies! :D

NinjaCatNyan: ew. ew, it's you. ugh.

haha, just kidding. :3

thank you, fellow darcy lover! and, yes, you're right. bitches make the store spicy.

oh, god, our race.

well, long story short, confused souls, maggie (NinjaCatNyan) basically forced me to write this out. threats and all. you have her to thank for the lack of a one-year hiatus.

*sigh* fine. i'll tell you next time.

maybe.

mwahahahahaha!

kid-kun: thank you for your kind comments! ^_^

and, yes, i totally get what you mean. i have a friend that's bisexual, and when she tells people, a lot of them go, "wait. you like boys? or girls? both? is that even possible?" it's annoying and hurtful. -_- not to mention, their ignorance just pisses me off...

oh, god ... don't even get me started on close-minded yaoi fangirls... *shudder*

you love me? =^_^= you sweetheart, you! thank you for your lovely review!

faded colors: let me just start off by saying that i completely adore your username. i don't know why. it just seems to flow well. so i applaud you for that bout of genius. :)

as for your review, this is one of the nicest reviews i have ever gotten. i mean, my day was going a bit shitty when i got this. then i read it and all the shittiness just sort of flew out the window! :) thank you so, so much.

it's so reassuring to hear those comments about tally's personality! i suffer from story-paranoia, so i'm constantly fretting and worrying about things like this.

and the fact that you racked your brain and went through searching and things for my story makes me smile so big, i think i'm in danger of damaging my facial muscles.

in other words...

thank you!

:D

AnimeVamp1997:

rawrrrrrrrzers!

:3

haha. yeah, it's nice to see her not lying. i mean, she still hasn't told the total truth yet (barely any of it, really). but she's learning, right? :D yay learning!

haha. nice to know i'm not the only one who's traumatized by izumi being a dance teacher. :P

TheWaffleAlchemist: oi! it's you! ze epic named! :3

elphie is a very ... fascinating name. but tally suits her way better, so i'm glad she decided to tell the truth as well, to beth, al, and ed. :)

and ed is sort of being a douche. he just doesn't trust her. and i don't think he likes the way she bossed him around about the bacon. and beth's fondness of her confuses him.

but al is much more trusting! :) so i'm sure that tally'll get along with al better than ed, for the time-being.

SweetSirendipity: haha, someone obviously took their caffeine pills this morning. ;)

and, well, here's the next chapter, so i hope you enjoy it! ^_^

Gummy'Fish'Lover: hehe. eat my furniture, but leave my books alone, will ya? :P

four in the morning, eh? who needs sleep? :P

and i've updated! :) enjoy! thank you for your review!

Dylexa: yes! fellow penguin saver! :)

aww, thank you so much for your kind words! ^_^

no grammar mistakes? :O holy shit. i was sure there'd be something, because i'm horrible at editing. it's nice to know there aren't any! :) thank you!

yay for new readers! thank you so much for your feedback! :D

and there you have it, folks! :) all the lovelies that reviewed my story!

honestly, every single review i get means so much, more than you may think. i'm really, really glad people read - and enjoy - my work. so thank you so, so much. i give you all the thanks in the world and beyond.

fifty-one saved penguins, fifty-one klisses, and forty-nine reviews away from me planning a fluff scene! whee! thank you for all your continuous support. :) kurt and blaine are getting quite nifty... ;)

sorry. had to say that.

on a side-note, if any of you have requests, suggestions, constructive-criticism or anything of that sort, don't hesitate to tell me in the form of a review or pm! i want to make this story the best it can be. and the only way to do that is to take all of your advice into account. even if it's a flame. :P

thank you, once more!

*flies off*