Hello! My computer hasn't been connecting to the Internet very well, sorry for the delay. There will be a third chapter; it just isn't in existence yet. Death by Black Hole, the book Skye reads at Birches, is real and is FANTASTIC! The Various, a book mentioned by Jane in The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, is a fantastic trilogy. I do not own Narnia, the Penderwicks, or Wicked, though they are all fantastic!

Justme (Guest): You got it! Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy forever!

Readwriteedit: Thank you for your two cents; they are worth a lot to me! You're right about Jeffrey and Skye.

Kso12: Be patient, sister dear. I'm writing as fast as I can!

-BookProf101

Skye fidgeted as Jane's smirking face locked the closet door on her and Jeffrey. Why did I ever agree to come to this party?

It was dark, the only light coming from the outline of the door. At least it's not enough light for Jeffrey to see my face, she thought, I'm sure it's red as a tomato.

The coats stank of cigarettes; whoever they belonged to was ruining their lives one smoke at a time. Skye wrinkled her nose in disgust. They sat in silence, both too embarrassed and anxious to say anything. The quiet built up, forming like a cement block over their heads.

"So…"Skye said.

"So…" Jeffrey replied.

"So, how much to you want to bet there's a secret passageway out of here?" Skye had read Narnia, at Jane's insistence. It wasn't bad, but Death by Black Hole was still better.

Jeffery smiled, though Skye couldn't see it. "Let's check." Dragging the foul-smelling coats out of the way, Skye and Jeffrey felt around the tight confines of the closet. Jeffrey's hand brushed against Skye's hair. It's so soft, he marveled. Skye hardly seemed to care about her hair, so he hadn't paid it much notice. But now he was enraptured. Jeffrey shook his head. Now was not the time.

Skye sighed. There wasn't a way out of here and the closet most definitely did not lead to Narnia, though she might have gone there just to get away from the closet, not to see Mr. Tumnas.

"That failed. We may as well talk. What's going on at the music school?" Skye hardly sounded interested, but talking about something would at least keep the silence away.

"Well, there's a concert coming up. I'll be playing with the orchestra for the acting school next door's rendition of Wicked. There's one song called "Defying Gravity" that's a lot of fun to play. It-"Jeffrey was cut off by Skye's hand tightly clamped over his mouth.

"I'm not sorry, but please…talk about something else. How about a thumb war?" Skye wasn't the biggest fan of music, he knew, so her interruption didn't bother him.

"In the dark?"

"Yep. That makes it more fun." Skye stuck out her hand. Jeffrey took it, instinctively knowing where it was. They had played countless games of thumb war on the long car trip back from Birches when they weren't begging Jane to be quiet about Sabrina Starr's next adventure. Jeffrey's fingers were strong from years of piano playing, but Skye's were quick and agile from ages of stealing globs of glaze, icing, and various deserts of Rosy's. They were pretty evenly matched, and each game escalated into peals of laughter.

"One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war," they chanted.

Skye's thumb feinted left, and then dove right. Jeffrey couldn't see her thumb, but he could feel every muscle in her hand. Her thumb was right…there!

Light flooded the closet. "Time's up," Jane said. She gawked as she noticed Jeffrey's thumb securely pinning Skye's down.

"You two are the least romantic people I have ever met," she muttered.

Skye checker her watch. If she drove fast, she could still set up her telescope in time to have two hours of glorious star gazing. "Let's go." She grabbed their arms, heading for the door. As they passed the former sight of the dreaded circle, Skye saw Lydia trying to smother George in kisses. George looked miserable. I know how you feel, she thought. Parties aren't my thing either. Though Lydia's probably the cause of his miserable situation.

The ride home was completely silent except for the scratching of Jane's pen. Skye had securely tied the shoelace back onto her heels and was feeling much more reassured as she drove down the dark streets back to Gardam.