A/N: Yay, thanx for all the reviews. I know, I know. This story goes a little slow. Things won't be explained till like chapter 7, but I think it's kinda cool to leave people wondering. Makes em wanna keep reading, right? Lol. Anywayz, enjoy and keep the reviews coming.

Chapter Five

*~Jamie~*

I was in Clarissa's living room. Or, I had been a second ago. Now I was standing confused on a pavement driveway staring up at a huge white mansion.

Alexia looked at me. I looked at Nick. Nick looked at Alexia and we all shrugged, not quite sure of what to do. Finally, Alexia took a deep breath and ventured towards the pure white door. She knocked loudly on the golden door knocker and a moment later, it creaked open.

"Yeeeeeeeesssssss?" the man, obviously the butler, croaked in a drawn out manner.

"Umm, is there a Marco here?" Alexia questioned nervously.

"Yes, who shall I inform him is here?" he inquired, bored.

Nick stepped up. "We're friends of Jake."

The butler nodded, only slightly impressed. Jeez, this guy was a real penguin. "I'll retrieve him." With that, he spun back on the heel of his shiny black shoe and walked back into the house, his heels echoing on the marble floor.

We waited in silence for an impatient five minutes, when suddenly out waddled a small white poodle.

You are friends of Jake? a sound in my head rang out. I knew it was crazy, but it seemed to be coming from the poodle. Then again, after this whole thing, who was I to put guidelines on what was crazy? This must be Marco in morph.

"Uhh…yeah," I replied to the poodle's question.

Alright. Hang on please.

"What should I hang on to?" I joked. Marco morphed human and I tried not to vomit in the process.

When he was finished, he smirked. "I'll have you know that I am the master of corny jokes. And I'd give that about a three on the comedic scale."

"Excuse me, but you're like what? Forty? Isn't that a bit old to be rating corny jokes?"

"Very funny. So who are you guys and why are you here?"

"I'm Jamie," I stated, then pointed to my friends. "This is Alexia and this is Nick. The Ellimist sent us here. It's kind of a long story. Just come with us," I urged.

"The Ellimist? As in, funky looking blue dude with cat ears and light bulb skin? As in, if I go with you I'll have to reside to the suicidal life that I've been so relieved to live without for the past twenty something years? As in, are you insane?!"

"Marco, we know this is weird. But you have to trust us. The Ellimist said this could affect all our lives, even yours," Alexia pleaded in that calm, convincing voice of hers. There was no arguing with that voice.

"Well…okay," Marco agrees uneasily.

And just like that, we were back in Clarissa's living room. Jake was returned from his trip also, standing by an African American woman with dark brown eyes. I noticed a tension between them, as though uncomfortable to even be within a foot of each other. Though I didn't know why that was, I assumed this was Cassie.

Marco, Jake, and Cassie talked quietly for a while, catching up. I wondered why Cassie flinched when Jake mentioned he had a daughter, but I figured it was none of my business.

So I sat back and talked with my friends while we waited for Shawn and Clarissa, who seemed to have no concept of time. I wondered what was taking them so long, but then, that was none of my business either.