Together, Peris and Tally went out nearly every day that summer.

Exploring Uglyville from the greenbelt was lots of fun. But as the summer dragged on, there just wasn't enough time in their evenings to play. So, Peris and Tally decided to trick their parents.

---

"Bye Sol! Bye Ellie!"

"Bye sweetheart! Have fun with Peris," Tally's parents called to her as she left her house.

She waved goodbye, then shut the door. Heading out onto the sidewalk, Tally double checked what was in her backpack. Extra clothes, a sleeping bag, lots of snacks, and a flashlight. Typical sleepover gear. But the contents of her pack also happened to be the perfect things for a night of exploring. What Tally was really doing.

The whole thing had been Peris's idea. He had told his parents that he was going to spend the night at Tally's house, while she had told Sol and Ellie that she was staying overnight at Peris's house. The trick worked perfectly, and Tally could laugh at how clueless both of their parents were. Together, she and Peris had the whole night ahead spread out in front of them like a blank canvas, just waiting to be filled. It was warm enough to sleep outside, so of course that's what they were doing.

As they met at the park, Tally took Peris's hand and squeezed it. She'd gotten in the habit of doing so after they had cut themselves. It was a gentle reminder about their promise of forever.

"You ready to have fun?" Peris asked as he squeezed her hand back.

"Of course!"

They let go of each other, and their hands dropped to their sides, catching the motion of their strides as they walked out of the park. Taking a different path then they normally would, they passed by their small littlie school. Peris nudged her as they passed it, and they both giggled. That was one place they would never go again.

---

The new route Tally had found in the greenbelt took then closer to the river dividing New Pretty Town and Uglyville then they had ever been. They found a spot well covered with trees and bushes and stashed their gear there, and they snuck out as far as they could to a spot with a good view of both Uglyville and New Pretty Town. As the night grew darker, the lights of New Pretty Town became brighter. Sounds of far off bashes filtered through the nearly empty grounds of Uglyville, echoes of screams and excitement mixed with the beat of music. But in Uglyville, the night became darkness that swallowed the large dorms and parks.

As 11 o'clock came around, all the dorms went dark as the uglies curfew time came. Peris found it immensely funny that they littlies were out later then the older uglies. His hand was clamped over his mouth trying to stifle his uncontrollable giggling. Tally elbowed in him the side.

"Can you be quite for two minutes?"

"Aw, come on Tally. It's not like anyone else is out here," he said through the giggles.

Now tally was laughing too. "You're right, they're all in bed now," she said through her quiet laughter. But something moving caught her eye, and she motioned to Peris to look "Hey, look over there..."

A group of uglies was quietly sneaking past a dorm. They weren't laughing or talking or making any noise like uglies usually did. And they were dressed in dark colors that blended into the night. Tally had to squint to see them as they quietly went down a path that headed towards the river.

Tally and Peris watched in amazement as they actually snuck across an old bridge into New Pretty Town.

They stared at each other.

Both of them knew that uglies were allowed into New Pretty Town as much as they were allowed into Uglyville as littlies. Basically, they weren't. But the group of uglies didn't seem to care. They were across the river and sneaking through a garden that snaked its way into the city as Tally lost sight of them.

How...?

The unasked question went through both Peris and Tally's minds. Interface rings wouldn't ever let anyone go where they weren't supposed to. Tally and Peris had discovered this on their first trip to the greenbelt to spy on uglies. They couldn't go much past the middle of the belt without a warning ping going off in their heads that told them they were leaving the suburbs.

"Maybe they're pretties?" Peris offered as a suggestion to why the group was in both places.

"No, pretties never go anywhere but New Pretty Town. And anyway, why would they have to sneak back into their own part of the city?"

"But they had to have been pinged or something!" Peris exclaimed.

"Yeah...but Peris, what if they took their rings off. Then ran away. They wouldn't be pinged..."

A moment of silence passed between the two. If uglies could take their rings off, could they? Tally silently squeezed Peris's hand – the one with the scar and his interface ring. She could see an idea forming out of his confusion. His forehead was crinkled a little like it always did when he was confused, but it quickly smoothed out and his eyes brightened with the new thought.

"You up for an adventure?" he whispered.

"Always."