A/N: Sorry this chapter is so late! I've been busy. Chapter 8 is dedicated to Chris (Metallica shirt) and Alex (plaid). You guys are awesome. Thanks and kudos to my awesomecool reviewers: RAVIE, JELLO, Koishii-Kitsune-Akira, and i'm-beautifully-tragic (hands Ravie, Jello, Koishii-Kitsune-Akira, and i'm-beautifully-tragic chocolate bunnies). This chapter has lots of references to a lot of my favorite things. Find them all and REVIEW!

Chapter 8: We could go to the moon!

Rhode Island

Mark slowly opened his eyes to dozens of college-aged kids and teenagers staring at him. Rock music blared from all around him. He definitely wasn't in the loft anymore.

"Are you ok?" asked a college-aged guy with long blonde hair.

"Yeah, I'm...fine...what is this? Where is everybody? Collins? What happened?" Mark asked. The people standing around him seemed shocked at the sound of his words.

"Dude... what happened to your voice? You sound like... a dude!" another guy shouted. Mark was puzzled by this comment at first, and then looked down at himself. He was wearing a low-cut black tube top and a miniskirt. Mark screamed.

"Mark! Is that you?" a teenage girl with Maureen's voice asked.

"Maureen? Is that you? Thank God you're here. What the hell happened to me?" Mark questioned, gesturing down to his new form. People were still staring at him and looking extremely confused, as Mark was. Maureen led Mark away from the crowd of people so that she could talk to him alone.

"Mark... remember what happened with me and Mimi and Roger?" Maureen asked. Mark knew what was coming.

"Great. I switched bodies with a girl? What am I going to do now? Where's everybody else?" Mark asked.

"Mimi was with some guy, and Roger's at some chess match," Maureen explained.

"So I've heard. That should be interesting. So, who's party is this? And how did you get here? More importantly, do you guys have any idea what's going on?" Mark asked.

"Mark, I think it would be best if you stop talking for a while. In case you haven't noticed, coming out of a girl's body, your voice isn't exactly natural."

"Yeah, I had no idea," Mark said sarcastically. "We've got to stop this before someone gets suspicious."

Just then, Lauren stormed towards Mark and Maureen.

"Tara! There you are! Are you ok? What happened?" Lauren asked, with a touch of anger in her voice.

"She just tripped, it was nothing. She's fine," Maureen answered, not wanting Lauren to hear Mark's voice.

"Are you sure? She looks pretty messed up to me," Lauren said skeptically.

"No, really, she's fine."

"Good, because we should get going. Mom's going to be mad if we're back late. This party's getting boring anyway. Where's Christine?" Lauren asked.

"Um... I haven't seen her," Maureen lied, not wanting Lauren to know about Mimi's drunken state.

"Well, we have to leave! I'm surprised that I didn't see her before. I would think that she would hate a party like this."

Suddenly, Lauren saw Mimi- heading towards Mel's bedroom with a college-aged guy.

"Holy shit! Christine! We have to go now!" Lauren shouted, dragging Mimi away from the guy.

"But I want to stay..." Mimi said, her speech slurred.

"Christine? Are you...drunk? Shit! That's it, we're leaving. Everyone, into my car, now," Lauren demanded.

"But...but..." Mimi protested weakly.

"I really don't care. I shouldn't have taken all of you to Mel's party. I knew something bad was going to happen." Lauren slammed the door of Mel's house without saying goodbye and walked out to her car. As soon as everyone was seated, Lauren began to talk.

"Guys? What the fuck is going on here? All of you have been acting really weird today, and it's freaking me out. Miranda, you're definitely not yourself. Tara, you haven't said a word since you fainted on Mel's living room floor, but someone said that you sounded like a guy?

What's up with that? And Christine- my God, I've never seen you like this at all. If you guys are trying to play games with me, it is so not working. I need an explanation. Now. Or none of you are going to the Sulky Boys concert, and all of your parents will know what happened tonight. I don't usually get all parental like this, but this is seriously fucked up."

Maureen, Mark, and Mimi exchanged a glance. None of them knew what to do. Would Lauren believe them if they told the truth? They had to tell her something.

Maureen was the first to speak.

"You aren't going to believe us, first of all, so I don't know why I'm telling you this. But... I'm not Miranda."

"You're not Miranda? What the hell is this? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY SISTER?" As soon as Lauren shouted those words, Maureen immediately regretted what she just said. But she had already said it. There was no turning back.

"Like I said, this is really hard to believe, and I really don't know all the details myself..." Maureen started to explain.

"Well, this better be good. I don't have all night," Lauren said.

"Anyway... well, like I said, I'm not your sister. I'm Maureen Johnson, from New York." Maureen paused to see how Lauren would react. Lauren didn't say anything, but a skeptical look appeared on her face.

"And...well, this afternoon, we were trying to set up the TV that Collins bought us, and then Mimi tripped over the cord and passed out. When she woke up, she...well, she wasn't Mimi anymore. She was your friend Christine, somehow trapped in Mimi's body. And then the same thing happened with Steve and Roger, and then with me and your sister, and then, at Mel's party, with Tara and Mark. You probably don't believe me, and I don't know how it happened, either. I'm telling the truth, I swear."

Lauren paused for a second, and then looked Maureen straight in the eyes.

"You're not lying, are you," Lauren said with disbelief. "I can tell. When you're lying, your eyebrows twitch. I still can't believe this, though. It's just so odd."

"You're telling me. I'm still hoping that this is just some weird drug trip and not a reality," Maureen commented.

"Wait. A weird drug trip? How old are all of you, anyway?" Lauren asked. When Maureen told her, Lauren's eyes widened.

"Well then. This is going to be interesting. So, when Tara fell at Mel's party, she really switched with one of you guys?"

"Um, yeah, she did." Mark, who had previously remained silent, said.

"Woah. Who did you say Tara switched with again?" Lauren asked after she heard Mark's voice coming out of Tara's boy.

"I'm Mark."

"Well. This is going to be interesting. May I suggest that we keep this little switching thing between us for the time being? I'm still confused, and I doubt anyone else will believe you.

In the mean time, we'll try to think up a way to reverse this whole process. Anyone have any ideas?"

"Oh! We could...go to the moon!" Mimi shouted from the back seat, obviously still drunk. Everyone stared at her.

"Yeah, we'll look into that...anyway, does everyone agree to keeping your real identities as secret as possible while you're here?" Lauren asked.

"I agree to it and all, but do you have any idea how hard that's going to be for us? I mean, I'm in the body of a girl, none of us even know where Roger is, and I don't know what you're going to do about her," Mark said, pointing to Mimi.

"Well, I don't think anyone knows what to do at this point. I mean, none of us have been in any situation like this before. We all have to just hope that all this gets resolved soon. I mean, it can't be that hard being twelve, right?" Maureen said.

New York

Only a few minutes after Tara awoke in Mark's body, the phone rang.

"Speeeeeeeeeeak beep "Hey! Roger! It's Alex. Dude, you were supposed to be at band practice fifteen minutes ago! We have a gig on Friday, in case you forgot, and you need to be here right away! It's over at Dave's place, in case you didn't get his message earlier. Is everything ok? Pick up if you're here or call Dave soon, ok? Bye."

Miranda, Christine, Steve, and Collins all stared at the answering machine.

"So, what should we do? I can't sing. If I go to Roger's band practice, they'll all laugh at me," Steve said, concerned.

"Relax. They won't laugh at you. Just tell them you're sick or something. They'll be mad, sure, but it'll all turn out fine," Collins reassured.

"We'll go with you," Miranda suggested.

"No! I am NOT going out there. I mean, I'm in a guy's body! This is so embarrassing, and I'm not leaving this apartment."

"Baby, don't you want to see me at band practice?"

"Um, no. I do not want to witness the reaction of your band members when they hear your singing voice- and no, we don't need a demonstration.

"Don't worry Steve, I'll go with you!" Christine offered. Then she looked down at her fishnets once again. "But not in this. I'm sorry, I can't be dressed in this. We need to find some new clothes."

"Ok, but just to warn you, I don't think you're going to find much..." Collins warned.

20 minutes later (still in New York)

Christine finally emerged from her clothing search wearing a black T-shirt with BOYS LIE in silver glitter on it, a short hot pink skirt, and a pair of black tights. She was...irritated. Steve began to ask her how it went, but she was not in the mood for questions.

"Don't even go there, Steve. Yes, this was the best I could find. Gosh, I never knew that a girl could own so many thongs!" she replied tersely. Steve decided to not press for more details.

"On second thought, I'll join you guys," Miranda offered. "If only to see Christine walking through New York in that outfit."

"Oh, be quiet. I look like a total slut as it is."

"You look fine," Miranda lied.

"No, I don't. When is this going to be over?"

"Relax. What is with everyone complaining over clothing today? First Mimi, now you..." Miranda wondered.

"Wait. What did Mimi say?" Christine asked.

"She said that you had too many pastel clothes," Miranda said.

"That little... Well, she has too many thongs!" Christine shouted.

"We get it. Both of you are upset. Look, maybe if we all just learned to accept our differences, then we'll switch back!" Tara suggested. Everyone stared at her.

"Tara, are you feeling ok?" Miranda asked."I was just making a suggestion... you're not going to try it, are you?" Tara asked.

"NO WAY!" everyone else shouted, Teen Girl Squad style.

"Fine then. But I'm still not going to band practice with Steve."

"Come on. Weren't you just talking about 'accepting differences' a couple minutes ago?"

"Yeah, but... that doesn't mean that I have to go with you guys!" Tara protested.

"Tara, you're going. You could offer your boyfriend some moral support for once, right?" Steve said.

"Ok, fine. But I'm not going to say anything while we're there, and I'm only doing this to help Steve.

Soon Collins, Miranda, Christine, Tara, and Steve all headed out to Steve's band practice.

"You know, we didn't all have to go to the band practice with Steve. Normally Roger just goes by himself," Collins commented.

"Well, you're the only one who knows where his band practices, and... the rest of us just wanted to witness the spectacle of everyone hearing Steve's singing voice!" Miranda said.

"Hey! It shouldn't be that bad," Steve yelled.

After a couple minutes during which Miranda, Steve, and Tara were almost run over by two taxis, they arrived at Dave's apartment.

"Dave! Roger's here, throw down the key!" Collins shouted. Soon a tall guy with a Mohawk appeared at the top window.

"Roger! It's about time!" he shouted as he threw the key down. Soon Miranda, Steve, Tara, Christine and Collins were all in Dave's apartment, which was, coincidentally, a huge loft not unlike Mark and Roger's apartment.

"Roger! Where were you, man? We've already used up most of our practicing time! At this rate, we'll never have that new song ready by Friday!" a short guy wearing a plaid shirt that somehow looked cool said.

"Um... new song?" Steve said weakly.

"Yeah! You know, "You're Still The Only One I'll Ever Love, Dead Psycho Killer?" Dave said.

"Um... yeah, right. That one. Heh," Steve said nervously.

"Look guys, Roger isn't really feeling too great right now, and his singing voice isn't the best..." Collins tried to explain.

"Bullshit. He sounds fine. Here, I'll start playing the killer bass line and Alex and Dave'll kick in their part too. We have to practice, or else we'll completely suck. And if we suck, I'll break your face with a shovel," a guy with a black Metallica T-shirt threatened.

"Ok... how does it go?" Steve innocently asked.

"What do you mean, how does it go? You wrote the damn thing, you should know!" Metallica T-shirt shouted, throwing a crumpled piece of notebook paper at Steve. Printed on it, in Roger's messy handwriting, were the lyrics to "You're Still the Only One I'll Ever Love, Dead Psycho Killer:"

You said you'd never leave me

But I never knew you'd take it literally

You stalked me every day and night

It was starting to get a little creepy

But even though you died, and that was quite a thriller

You're still the only one I'll ever love

Dead psycho killer

Clearly, Roger's songwriting had gone steadily downhill since "Your Eyes."

"What are you waiting for? We only have half an hour left to practice!" Dave shouted.

"I... I can't, I'm sick, I..." Steve panicked. He, using the fighting methods of Brave Sir Robin, ran immediately out the door and down the stairs of the apartment.

"Like we said, Roger isn't really himself," Collins tried to explain once again.

"Look, we don't want excuses. We have a huge gig on Friday, and he's acting like he doesn't even know the song! We can't have this!" Dave yelled.

"Yeah, so, we'll just be going now, don't want to get in your way during your band practice, heh..." Miranda trailed, trying to exit the apartment like Steve did.

"Hold it! Who are we going to get to be the lead singer now that Roger's sick?" Plaid shirt asked.

"Well, who was our lead singer before Roger?" Dave asked.

"Dude, Roger started the Well Hungarians. We're not hiring another lead singer to take his place. It just isn't right," Plaid Shirt said adamantly.

"Well, I was just saying that we might want to look into someone else. I could call Skip and see if he's available," Dave suggested.

"Skip Sparkypants? Dude, I thought he was gay. And how is he going to learn "You're Still the Only One I'll Ever Love, Dead Psycho Killer" by Friday?" Metallica T-shirt protested.

"Don't worry. Once Roger finds out that we're having Skip take his place, he'll come back to the band," Dave reassured. Then he stared at Miranda, Christine, Tara, and Collins, who were all staring at him and the other members of the band.

"Oh, are all of you guys still here? Um, yeah... pretend you never heard that, ok? It kind of kills the drama we're tryin' to create, you know what I'm sayin'?" Dave told them.

"Ok!" they all agreed, even though they really didn't know what he was talking about.

Once they were out of the apartment, Collins looked worried.

"Guys, Roger hates Skip Sparkypants! If we don't get Steve to sing for Roger's gig on Friday, it could destroy the entire band!" Collins said urgently.

"Why?" Miranda asked.

"Before the Well Hungarians started, Dave, Chris, and Alex were all with Congress Freckle, with Skip as their lead singer. Everything was going well until Skip wanted to make the band more pop instead of punk rock, which everyone else hated, so Congress Freckle broke up and Skip went solo for a while. Then, Roger met Dave, Chris, and Alex and they formed the Well Hungarians. After a while, Skip met up with Dave, Chris and Alex again and wanted to re-form Congress Freckle, but Roger said no. They got into a big fight, but the band ulti mately sided with Roger, leaving Skip bitter til this day. Plus, Skip used to go out with April- one of Roger's girlfriends- before she met Roger, so he hates Skip even more for that. If the band gets Skip to become their lead singer again, they could decide to just re-form Congress Freckle like that, leaving Roger without a band!" Collins explained.

"Wow, that's overly dramatic," Miranda said. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out. After all, how hard can it be to solve a little band rivalry?"