Ding dong.

Zoey's finger pressed against the doorbell. A loud ringing sound filled the air. Dana frowned and slapped her hands over her ears to block out the noise. They stood on the doorstep for a couple of minutes before Zoey reached out to ring the doorbell again. Before she could, however, Dana reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Why don't you just knock?" she suggested. "That doorbell will seriously make me go deaf."

Zoey nodded her head and rapped her knuckles against the door. Dana sighed and plopped herself down on the doorstep to rest her legs. After they had gotten off the plane, they had caught a taxi to Nicole's house. They had her address written down on a slip of paper so they knew where they were going. Quinn had been extremely quiet ever since they had gotten off the plane. She seemed to be lost in thought and Zoey and Dana didn't question her about it.

"Maybe she's out," Zoey noted, turning to face her friends.

"What do we do now?" Dana said, frowning.

Before anyone could answer, the door creaked open and a small trembling voice whispered, "Who is it?"

"Nicole?" Quinn said in surprise. She had expected Nicole to greet them by squealing and jumping up and down. Quinn peered through her glasses to stare at her friend. It seemed as if all the energy had been sucked out of her and all that was left was a great cloud of sadness hanging over her head.

Nicole blinked at her friends. "I must be hallucinating," she said out loud. "There's no way Zoey, Dana, and Quinn can be standing on my doorstep right now."

"Nicole," Dana said in a shaky voice. "It's really us." She felt scared that Nicole looked so… dead. Her hair hung limply on her shoulders and her cheeks were sunken in. Dana reached out and took one of Nicole's hands in hers. "It's really us," she said again.

Nicole looked extremely frightened and pried her fingers loose from Dana's. She turned to Zoey and said, "Zo? Is that you? Is it really… you?"

Tears filled Zoey's eyes. "Oh my God," she said in a trembling voice. "What happened to you? You're not Nicole Bristow! What have you done with her?"

Nicole shrunk bank, her eyes wide. "W-what?" she stammered. "What are you talking about? I'm Nicole Bristow and this is my house. You three are strangers to me. P-please leave…"

She began to close the door on them, but Dana stuck her foot out, causing the door to slam against her toes. "Wait," she said, grimacing in pain. "We're not strangers to you, Nicole! Look… you're wearing the Pants." She pointed to the jeans Nicole was wearing. They seemed unusually darker than usual.

"You know about the Pants?" Nicole said, her eyes widening. "How?"

"I'm telling you, I'm Dana!" Dana yelled. "And if you don't believe it, I'll beat you with your hair dryer until you get it through your head that it's really us standing on your doorstep!"

Nicole blinked at each girl in turn, her eyes wide with fear and shock. Then, suddenly, she lunged forward and pulled Dana into an enormous hug. "Dana!" she sobbed, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably as she started to cry. "I can't believe it's really you!" She let go of Dana, her cheeks stained with tears. She pulled Quinn into an equally large hug and then went for Zoey.

"What's happened to you?" Zoey whispered when Nicole had finally let go of her.

"What do you mean?" Nicole said, wiping away her tears.

"You look positively… dead," Zoey said. Nicole flinched at the word.

"Will you let us in?" Quinn asked softly. "We have loads to tell you."

Nicole slowly nodded her head and opened the door wider, allowing her friends to step inside. They took a look around Nicole's house, frowning at what they saw. The blinds were shut so no light could pass through the windows. The walls looked dark and gloomy and the atmosphere of the house wasn't a pleasant one. Zoey was the first to speak after a long silence.

"Where are you parents, Nicole?" she asked.

Lip trembling, Nicole murmured, "They're… out."

Quinn turned to look at her. She frowned and said, "Out where?"

A defeated look crossed Nicole's face as she mumbled, "They're at the hospital."

"Oh… Nicole…"

Zoey was the first to pull Nicole into a tight, comforting hug. Dana and Quinn joined in, allowing Nicole to cry quietly, staining their shirts. They stood that way for a long time, allowing Nicole to drop the weight she had been holding on her shoulders for such a long time. Her friends were with her now. They were all together again.

Sorry for the not very long chapters and the not so frequent updates. I've been having writer's block when it comes to this story. But never fear- I'm going to finish it! Thanks to everyone who takes time to read my story Thank you so, so, so much!