The four girls stretched out on their backs outside in Nicole's backyard. They lay in the grass in a single row, with Quinn and Dana on the edges and Zoey and Nicole squished between them. They stared up into the blue sky, sighing contently.

A long, comfortable silence wafted in the air for awhile. They just lay there, enjoying the moment they had together. Finally, after a long time of appreciating the silence, Zoey said, "PCA isn't the same without you, Nicole, I must admit. It's really…" She paused. "It's really different."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed, sighing and blinking up at the clouds from behind her square rimmed glasses. "It really isn't the same without you. When are you going to come back, Nicole?"

Nicole shifted uncomfortably in the grass. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I mean, with my mom in the hospital I don't really know what's going to happen. And it's just… it's just weird to think that I might not… have a mom soon."

Her voice cracked when she spoke. Dana looked over at her with a sympathetic look flicking in her eyes. "Oh, Nicole," she murmured. "Don't worry about it. It'll all be ok." She paused and ran her fingers through the long blades of grass. "Do you still have the Pants?" she said after a moment of silence.

Nicole smiled and slowly rose herself up to her feet. She went back into the house and came out a minute later, holding a pair of folded up jeans in her arms. Zoey, Quinn, and Dana all sat up to stare at the Pants- their pants.

"Oh wow…" Zoey breathed, taking the Pants from Nicole and letting the fabric rub against her skin. "It feels like forever since I've seen these…"

"I know what you mean," Dana agreed, her eyes glued to the large nail polish stain splattered across the front of the jeans. "Wow."

Quinn sighed and rubbed her cheek with her palm. "It's been a long time since we started our Sisterhood. Do you remember? How we snuck out after lights out and stood in a circle, holding hands…"

Nicole laughed, tears slipping out of her eyes. "Of course I remember."

Zoey hugged the Pants to her chest before passing them along to Quinn so she could enjoy the fragrance of the fabric. They all sat in silence for awhile, admiring the magical Pants and passing them along.

"Why are you crying?" Dana asked Nicole who was silently wiping her tears away.

"It's just that…" Nicole paused to catch her breath. "It feels so unreal, having you guys here… with me."

"Oh, Nicole," Quinn said sadly. "We'll always be with you. Gosh, I'm surprised you don't know that by now!" She laughed and leaned over to pull Nicole into a comforting hug. Nicole laughed, sputtering a bit as she did so. Dana and Zoey giggled.

"Okay, time to stop being so cheesy," Zoey said, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's all update each other on our lives. I feel like we haven't really 'talked' in a long time, don't you? Who wants to go first?"

"I will," Quinn volunteered. She cleared her throat, and sighed dramatically for effect. "Nicole, you don't know this, but I'm not with Michael anymore."

Nicole gasped. "But things were going so well for you two!"

Quinn nodded her head. "Yeah," she said. "It was. But then I found out he was cheating on me and going out with that girl… Tammy Ale. Do you know her?"

Nicole gasped again. "Not Tammy Ale!"

Quinn nodded her head again. "Yes, Tammy Ale."

Dana cleared her throat. "Er, sorry to interrupt, but I have to add something in. When Logan broke up with me, it was because Tammy Ale threatened to hurt me if he didn't stay away from me. And she was only going out with Michael to get closer to Logan."

There was a long silence in the air. Now everyone knew the truth. Everything was out in the open, flying around for anyone to catch and gobble up in their mouths.

"Wow," Nicole breathed after awhile. "I never thought Tammy would do such a thing."

Zoey sighed and shrugged. "It just goes to show, doesn't it?"

Nicole nodded. Quinn continued on with her story. "Michael wants me to take him back, but I don't think I can. And besides, I met this guy on the airplane…"

"What?" Zoey's eyes nearly fell out of her head. "You didn't tell us about this!"

"Well, his name's Martin and-"

"Is he hot?" Nicole interrupted. "How rosy are his cheeks? How tall is he? How full are his lips? Pleaseeee don't keep me in suspense!"

They all laughed out loud. Zoey smirked and said, "Well, the real Nicole is finally coming back I see."

Hey all - Sorry for the majorly short chapters and the majorly LONG wait for an update.
I'm sorry
I'm sorry
I'm sorry
And continue that on for about a million more times. Anyways, yeah, I hope I haven't lost any of my readers. To all who take time to read and review- thanks so much! I appreciate it a lot :)