Author´s notes: You really haven't guessed what has happened. (laughs)

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Chapter 24 – Wake-up calls

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Regina was brought back to reality by a splash of cold water – literally. Apparently, Amanda thought that the best means of waking her friend was with a shock even greater than the one she had experienced moments ago. Thus the blonde winced and inhaled sharply, and her hand immediately went for Amanda´s throat, the intent being obvious.

The brunette caught her hand quickly enough, obviously expecting this or something of the sort. "Up and at ´em, Princess. No time to do your dramatic faints. By the way, you´ve perfected the act."

"Next time you do that to me I´ll kill you immediately." Regina hissed, shivering a bit. She wiped a wet strand of hair from her face. "Now explain what the hell is happening."

"You´re not insane, if you mean that." Amanda said with a chuckle, "Not that insane, anyway."

"Thanks."

"Anyway, for a moment there I thought we were both losing it. You fainting and me hearing… well, you know who."

"And?" Regina sat up.

"We´re not losing it. It just seems that…"

"Christine!"

Amanda almost laughed when "Christine" looked like a fish, staring, before ending up in an embrace which Amanda narrowly avoided. She moved to where Regina´s surprised face was, with an impossible grin on her face.

"It seems that the body shift works both sides, if you get my drift, girl." she whispered, with a maniacal grin that screamed "if you only knew what I know". Just as soon as Regina was about to demand to know what was going on, she was released and Amanda´s grin broadened as Regina stared some more.

Descriptions are unneeded, but it took her a second to understand what Amanda meant, put it together with the fact that Gerard Butler was about fifty centimeters from her and stop herself from thinking things that would make Amanda proud.

It seemed that he also noticed the change, for her surveyed Regina curiously. "Christine… you look… different."

Amanda collapsed in fits of suppressed laughter. Regina bit her lip, but then looked quickly at the other girl. Their parents were still in that damned restaurant… "Amy, please go explain that I´m having um… girl problems at the bathroom and will be back in a bit."

Amanda nodded, understanding. "Got it, Tina." she grinned when Regina frowned – it was a crossing between a nickname for "Christine" and "Regina". Tina and Gina. And with that she wandered off.

Once she was gone, Regina disentangled herself from the embrace and stood up, thinking about how in the world she was to explain this. Taking a deep breath, she said: "You might have noticed that the surroundings are a bit… different than Paris, 1870, no?"

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Fifteen minutes later, Regina returned to the restaurant. And she was alone. Amanda´s neck hurt, since she had been looking for her among the guests, with no avail. Now, the blonde was putting away her cellphone. She wasn't exactly grinning or smiling, but seemed quite satisfied with herself.

"Regina, what in the world have you been doing in there?" Regina´s father asked. "You´ve been gone for almost half an hour! Your food is bound to be cold by now."

Regina shrugged innocently. "I ran into a friend – you remember Sylvia from my class? She´s in London this year, and I met her and a few others around here. We had to talk a bit, you know."

Suppressing a grin, Amanda made room for Regina and as the other girl sat down, her mood got a bit better, especially when she saw Regina look out of the window and smile warmly. Following where she was looking, Amanda didn't manage to suppress a grin this time. She would recognize that face anywhere. Regina, however, quietly returned to her food.

On their way through the city, she started a whispered conversation about what Regina told him – how on earth did she explain everything? And Regina answered – she began with them, where they are from, the current world and then moved on to what had happened. And it seemed that (fortunately) the same thing that had happened to them happened to him.

"And that is why I look different." she concluded, "And why you look different."

The greatest fit of laughter came when she explained that she took out a mirror she was always carrying with herself and gave it to him, showing him his own face. She didn't know how to describe that simple happiness she saw form in his eyes – she herself must have been beaming. Afterwards, she let out a little shriek when he suddenly grabbed her and embraced her tightly, almost dancing with her for a moment.

The silent fits of laughter when Regina was describing his reactions turned into open laughing when she reached the moment when she said she told him about the book and the musical. It had to be as brief as possible, but Amanda thought her friend covered the most important points.

"And you just let him go after that?" she whispered afterwards, "Alone, in an unfamiliar city, you left poor O.G.?"

"Of course not!" Regina snapped, smiling, "He O.G. and G.B. both, just like you´re M.G and A.H. at the same time. He knows the things he needs to know… he´s only a bit shocked, that´s all. Besides," she grinned, "I gave him my phone number, and if he remembers all he should, I think he knows how to use the phone."

Amanda covered her mouth in mock outrage. "Do you realize your own luck, girl?"

"I do. And that´s the beauty of it." Regina smirked, "The only problem is how we´re going to be meeting… and once we go home…"

"He´s O.G. he´ll think of something."

"I´m counting on that." Regina sighed.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "He would walk all the way to your house back on the Continent if he wouldn't find another way."

"Yeah. Life is good."