Oh dear, oh dear, this tale is getting very dystopic! A big thank you to TeaYami, and yes I think girls rock too. And for those who need a reminder, this story is just a negative extrapolation and is not to be taken seriously!

I decided to call Jade and Kristall in the evening after dinner to check if they were free to attend our little gathering. Kristall accepted immediately. Jade was a little hesitant.

"You invited Noelle?" she asked. "Are you sure it's okay?" I just shrugged and she went on. "Beth, you know what happened the last time."

"I didn't know. It was a little risky to be given instructions solely by her and then be taken in."

"Taken in? Beth Felicity Lestrade, that's the understatement of the year! Do you even remember what she did? She told you to meet at four at her house when we were meeting at three. Then at three-thirty she told us that we were going to the mall to meet you there as something had cropped up with you. She was all smiley and everything… we genuinely thought you were going to meet us there. By four-thirty you weren't there and she acted like nothing had happened."

My lips curled into a wry smile. "But I caught up with you all eventually, didn't I? I'm not making the same mistake this time. That's why I'm organizing."

Jade gave another sigh. "At that time I didn't understand why you wanted to organize it so much. I guess all of us had been duped. But why didn't you tell us then that you'd been tricked? You'd realized, right? Kristall and Christine are still in the dark, and I didn't know until you told me. Why didn't you tell?"

"You won't understand. It's late, Jade. Goodnight."

"Beth! It's only seven…"

I hung up on her, shut down my computer and ran out of my bedroom. I ran down the stairs and into the living room. Throwing the door open, I dashed out into the cool night air. I had to escape.

The park wasn't that far away and I could find my way there by moonlight. The stray bits of leaves and litter had been swept away and the concrete path was clear. My shoes made hardly any sound as I walked slowly up the path.

Jade certainly didn't understand. The friendship Noelle and I shared was a little extraordinary. I stared hard into the darkness and tried to rally my thoughts, which were as organized as random ink squiggles on paper.

Odd though, how I couldn't remember how we started hating each other. All I remember is waking up one day when I was sixteen and thinking of how I was going to get back at Noelle for the evil thing she had said to me the day before. One day we were best friends, and the next day we wanted to kill each other.

I remembered clearly though, how she talked scorned me loudly in public one day. When I remembered the unusual way I had retaliated, I had to clap my hand over my mouth to stifle a wild peal of laughter.

The constant cold wars, the stiff formality, the competition and all, those were the things that were my teenage life. My hand clenched into a fist. The war was not over yet. A slow smile spread over my face and I wanted to jump up and down and scream with unrestrained laughter. Oh, the look on her face, her face!

I decided against it when I heard the steady sound of footsteps on the pavement. I wanted to stop and analyze the sound like Holmes had taught me too, but instinct and a lifetime of my mother's advice told me to run.

I was jumping up when I saw Holmes' familiar figure striding towards me. I stopped and turned to face him.

"I thought you were here," said Holmes quietly, sitting down beside me. I couldn't help feeling a little disoriented, his manner was rather unusual. I inquired if he was looking for me on an urgent matter.

He shrugged. "You could say so. I gather something must have happened to make you leave the house so quickly?"

"It's just a relationship problem with Noelle," I said in a flat tone. "We used to be best friends, but we haven't exactly been getting along these few years."

Holmes said nothing, but nodded knowingly.

"If I knew things were going to turn out this way I wouldn't have said hi to her on that first day."

"It happens, and is inevitable, Beth. It's fate."

I stared at him, hard. Sherlock Holmes just did not believe in fate.

"Think of a strange twist that brings two people together. Think of two destinies entwined," Holmes was saying. "It sounds like some opera or play, but when it happens to you, you don't think about it like that anymore." He took a deep breath. "Beth, I've decided."

I jerked my head up, my heart racing. "Decided what?"

"I can't wait my whole entire life and let a chance slip by. That's one thing I learnt from you." He raised his head to look at me. "When you want something, when you've thought about it long and hard, action's the only way to get it."

My mind was reeling, jumping all over the place to make sense of what my friend was saying. I felt the warm touch of his hand, his strong fingers interlocking with mine.

"Holmes…"

"I know what I want, Beth," he continued. "I've had enough adventure and danger in my first life. I want a future with no more loneliness, no more wandering around. I want a future with you."

I thought I would burst with happiness, but at the same time I found myself wondering if it was all a dream and I would wake up and find myself alone in a dark bedroom. Holmes held out an open velvet case, slightly worn at the edges and discoloured with age. In it lay a delicate diamond ring on a silver chain.

"Beth," he said softly. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," I whispered as he drew me closer and I felt the warmth of his body against mine. "Yes, I will."

And then I knew it was no dream.

For those who want (and care) to know, thatis the hardest chapter I have ever written in my whole entire life. It went through 4 revisions.