A/N

Okay, so I changed this because I realized not everyone would get it if I used Dirksen, so I used Barrymore instead. On another note, chapter 17'll be up soon, and yeah.

Enjoy!

"Hey, house. Did you hear?" I whisper, placing my hand on the balustrade. "Ella's back, baby!" I head up the stairs, and start unpacking. School tomorrow is gonna be fun.

I get about halfway across the courtyard before the whispers start flying. I see Phiri in one corner, glaring at me. I smile back. Okay, that's not gonna change. But fair enough. I sidle up to my old group of friends, who are leaning against a wall, texting.

"Hey guys," I say. They give noncommittal greetings in reply. I wait. Haylee looks up, and her eyes widen.

"Oh my god, Ella!" She exclaims, hugging me tightly. I don't wince as her long nails dig into my shoulders.

"How was Garde? Was it horrible?" Gigi asks, eyes wide. I think about that.

"Depends on your definition of horrible," I reply mysteriously, popping an eyebrow. She pushes my shoulder.

"Well, you've got your best friends back now," Haylee says. I don't answer. "You haven't found any new best friends, have you? I need pics!"

"Drake and Adam," I then think of a few others. "Marina and Myra." I pull out my phone, and bring up my photos. Before I show them, I look them in the eye.

"Don't comment on them, okay? It's weird." I give them the phone, and they eagerly look at it. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Their boy obsession always used to drive me crazy, and it still does.

Haylee takes a step back, leaving Gigi to try and stop herself from dropping my phone, and examines me. "It's happened, hasn't it?"

Gigi and I exchange a glance. "What's happened?" We ask in sync. Haylee's eyes rolled.

"You've kissed someone, haven't you?" See, even though I had a bit of a reputation at Mogadore, I never actually went out with anyone. Meaning I hadn't been kissed my entire duration at Mogadore previously. But what the hell, if Haylee knows with her weirdo sixth sense, I may as well confirm it.

"Not a someone," I begin cryptically. "Someones." Both their jaws drop.

"Two guys? What happened? Are you dating one of them?" I shake my head.

"One's a total douche. The other one, well. He...got amnesia, and changed. So no, I'm not," I answer.

"Sorry 'bout that, El. But Gigi, give her the phone back, this I need to see." She hands it over, and I swipe left a few times to a group photo.

"There ya go. That one there's the douche. Feel free to say whatever," I say, pointing to the picture of Stanley.

"Eh, he's pretty good looking. Is that the other one?" Haylee hovers her finger over Nolan.

"Uh, yeah. How'd you know?" I ask curiously. She shrugs.

"Sixth sense, remember? I know these things."

"Right. Well, class starts in like one minute, so do you guys wanna head to class?" I ask casually. They stare at me.

"Um, yeah, we probably should," Haylee replies, eying me weirdly. I used to skip class all the time last year. Well, not anymore. Since Haylee has a different class to me and Gigi, we part ways in the middle of the hall. Gigi turns to me.

"Okay, Ella. I want the full story. There's something, I know it so don't try to lie to me," she says seriously. I sigh, and point down the corridor. "That place still there?" She knows what I'm talking about immediately, and nods.

"Let's go. This is gonna take a while." 'That place' is where everyone goes to have meaningful conversations, skip class, whatever. But no one ever did anything except talk in there. No hook ups or anything like that. This was the one room in all of Mogadore which hasn't been tainted by anything.

"Okay. Spill," Gigi says once we're sitting on the floor. I sigh, and nod.

"Right. So, there was this bet..." Half an hour later, we we're done. Hey, I explained it in great detail, okay? Gigi doesn't say anything. Then: "wow."

"I know," I reply, rubbing my face.

"Do you still like him? Nolan, I mean." I shake my head.

"I dunno. I mean, most of the time I've known him has been his new self, so I don't know if I liked him before more, or now but without some of the snarkiness," I answer truthfully.

"Well, I hope you figure it out, El. Let's get to our second class. No doubt we've missed homeroom. Not that I'm complaining."

In science, we were learning something about space. I zone out for most of her introduction, until the door opens, and two guys walk in. They look kinda suspicious. I exchange a glance with Haylee, and she shrugs. One is wearing a beanie with huge black glasses, and is dressed in a button up shirt and khaki pants. He looks like a dorky junior executive. The teacher, Ms Kelinn, asks them to introduce themselves. Khaki guy speaks up first.

"Um, hi. I'm Dra-ew. Drew," he says exaggeratedly at the end. The other guy facepalms. I look him over. He's wearing a cap and sunglasses, with red skinny jeans and a beige jacket. They both look familiar, but I don't know anyone who'd dress like that.

"Luke," he says simply. Khaki guy looks peeved. I would be too, if my buddy introduced themselves that much smoother than me. Hmm.

"Last names?" Ms Kelinn asks. They exchange glances, and Sunglasses seems to have lost his cool. Then he seems to compose himself.

"Hemmings," he replies.

"Barrymore," Drew says. I snicker, along with half the class. They both stride to the back of the class, and take their seats. A couple minutes later, Drew raises his hand.

"Can I go pee?" Way to put it eloquently, really. Ms Kelinn looks amused, and nods.

"Of course, Drew." A few seconds after he walks out the door, I feel my phone buzz. I quickly turn it to mute, and slide my thumb across it. Nolan.

how the mogs treatin ya? Out of all Nolan's speeches he'd given me on using good grammar, he still text talked like nobodys business. I type back a reply.

Eh, good I guess. Nothings really changed.

evry1s rl depressed n stuff here. its so quiet without u here. I roll my eyes at that.

There's these new guys who introduced themselves as Luke Hemmings and Drew Barrymore. I think I hear Luke cough, and glance anxiously over my shoulder, scared he's reading my texts. But he's sitting two rows away. Coincidence.

luke hemmings? drew barrymore? idiots. I stare at my phone incredulously.

yeah

what class u in? science?

Yeah. How'd you know? I hear Luke swear behind me, and resist the urge to turn back and look at him. I lose eventually, and peer over my shoulder. His head is in one hand, and his eyes are glued to the front. Well, I can't see behind his sunglasses, but it looks like he's facing the front anyway. I need to stop being paranoid.

uh, lucky guess

Luke's behind me, and he keeps making noises. It's freaking me out.

well, I gotta go, teachers comin round. ttyl

Bye. A minute later, Drew walks back into the room. I freeze as he walks past me. What if he was Nolan in disguise? And Luke was, I dunno, Matt or something. I'm not a big believer in coincidences. I make a decision, and once class is over, I go up to them both.

"Hey, do you guys want to sit with me at lunch?" I ask. They look at each other, before Drew nods.

"Sure. See you then."

"Let me get this straight. The new guys are sitting with us?" Haylee checked.

"Yeah. If they ever show up, that is," I say, eying the entrance.

"They're probably lost. Mogadore is pretty big," Gigi reasons. I nod, but don't break my stare. I hear her sigh.

"Who're you looking for?" I jump, and turn around. Drew is standing there, trying to follow where I was looking. Luke is slouched beside him.

"Hi," Haylee says, unashamedly checking them out. That girl, I swear.

"Can we sit?" Luke asks awkwardly.

"Sure," I say, gesturing to the empty seats. They sit down, and the table goes silent. So I decide to try my luck.

"Hey, Drew, do you mind if I talk to you a minute? In private," I added. He looks confused, but I don't let it deter me.

"Um, okay?" He replies quizzically, and we both head outside the cafeteria. "What is it?" I take a deep breath, and wonder how the hell I'm going to do this. If I'm wrong, it's going to be majorly awkward. But if I'm right...

"I'm just gonna say it. Are you Nolan?" He stares at me for a minute, then starts laughing.

"Who the hell is Nolan?" He asks. But it doesn't sound very convincing.

"Prove you're not him," I demand. He shrugs, and takes off his beanie. His hair is blonde. I reach up and tug at it. Not a wig.

"Oh, uh...sorry. Wait. You know who Nolan is?" He swears under his breath. Well, he actually says something about toilet paper, or so I think. Then I freeze.

"How the hell didn't I...you're wearing makeup...you started saying you're name by saying dra, even though it's Drew...I'm officially an idiot." He is beaming at me.

"You're bloody Drake," I exclaim.

"Well, yes. Technically, that's me. But right now I'm Drew," he finishes happily.

"How the hell did I not know?" I ask myself incredulously.

"I dunno. You have spent pretty much every day with me for almost a year," he muses. I hit his arm.

"Whatever. You're not helping. What about Luke? Is he secretly, what, Matt or Stanley in disguise?" I question.

"No, no he's not," he replies. I feel myself relax.

"Why are you here? And why did you say your name was Drew Barrymore?"

"I heard someone mention him once. And I couldn't think of anything else," he explains. My eyes roll.

"Trust me, I could tell."

"So, how long are you gonna be here for?" I ask him.

"I don't know. I actually am here on a transfer thingy. A couple weeks?"

"Right. So, Luke isn't anyone? He was just being funny when he said his last name was Hemmings?" I check. He nods,

"Yeah. He was just being funny." I'm not sure if I believe him.