It was a BRILLIANT plan, if I do say so myself, hmm! It was as manipulative as any Ashley plan should be, and it would service as appropriate payback for their nerve to exile me!

Unfortunately, my plan required another person. And she wasn't going to just do what I say without question. What a lo-SER!

'Oh, it's brilliant! It's stupendous! It's, dare I say, SCANDALOUS!'

'It's what, exactly? Because all you've done for the past 45 and a half seconds is bounce around like a marsupial in mating season.', Gretchen commented, impatient. She was tapping her foot, aware that Recess was ending very soon. She wanted to finish whatever this was ASAP.

Ashley, who was still bouncing from foot to foot, clapping herself, scowled and turned around, observing Gretchen with clasped arms and a pouty lip. 'Use compliments, Ashley. Flatter her to help', she thought.

'Oh, Gretchen, sweet, smart, sensible Gretchen. Very USEFUL Gretchen. The greatest Gretchen to ever Gretchen, Gretchen.', Ashley purred, edging closer to Gretchen, who rolled her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Ashley said 'Pleeeeeeeeeeease… HelpmemaketheotherAshley'sjealousbyhangingoutwithmeatthemallsotheybegmetocomeback?', she fluttered her eyelashes and wrinkled her nose, just in case.

Gretchen, however, wasn't fooled. 'You're an Ashley. You think I fall for that 'Sweet Gretchen' spiel? Or your supposed 'charms'?', Gretchen made air quotes, unamused.

Ashley's face soured, annoyance coloring her previously "rosy cheeks". 'Okay, no more Mrs. Nice Ashley.'

'That was nice?'

'You WILL help me. I order it. Now, chop chop!', Ashley clapped her to get to work, eyes closed, nose up in the air.

'No.', Gretchen exclaimed flatly.

'What do you mean "No"?', I'm an ASHLEY! I don't get told "No"!', Ashley protested, aghast at the very idea. 'I get "Yes", and "This is half off" and "Ma'am, your style is blinding the customers, please leave the premises", but I DON'T GET "NO"!'. Ashley stepped up to Gretchen now, staring her dead in the eyes, like a furious bull seeing a man cosplaying as the Kool Aid Guy.

Gretchen straightened her glasses and kept her cool, not averting her gaze. 'Why should I just help you like that?'

'W…What?!', Ashley sputtered in disbelief. 'YOU were, like, the one who came to me, all worried and stuff!'

'True', Gretchen observed, finger wagging. 'But that doesn't mean I'm willing to do ANYTHING. Especially spend an entire day with you to get your mean friends back so you can be mean to my friends!'

'Mean to your friends? As if!'

'As so!'

'Oh PUH-LEASE!', Ashley waved her off, shaking her head. 'Name ONE time!'

Gretchen took out a long scroll from her pocket that rolled all the way outside the school. Car alarms and police sirens could be heard.

'Well, you jinxed Gus and nearly laid him in catastrophe for the sake of juvenile pleasure, you tried to turn my friend Spinneli into a carbon copy of you and your friends plus your personal servant, you all made fun of me when Jeffrey was being a pest and courting me, you humiliated me and my friends 5 years in a row in the can drive just because you liked winning, you nearly sabotaged the great treasure hunt, you tried to catnap Stuart the cat, You demeaned everyone with that popularity list, you…'

'ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT I GET IT!', Ashley A shouted, red in the face. She crossed her arms in a huff. 'All I did was ask you what it was like to get crushed on like that, it must have been nice for him, that is, you…', Ashley muttered.

'My point made, I venture that you at least ELABORATE on your plan. You require me to hang out with you to make the others jealous? Last time I checked, I'm not exactly 'Ideal Ashley Friend material'.', Gretchen remarked.

Ashley suddenly laughed mischievously, rubbing her hands. 'Exactly, dear Gretchen! Seeing me with anyone would make them jealous! We Ashley's are quite envious when someone has something we want! Deep down, I know they still want me! The idea of my succeeding outside of them would drive them mad with, like, biblical rage!'

Gretchen raised an eyebrow.

'Mommy's a real deep Christian.'

'Ah.'

'Anyway, just seeing me hang with anyone else would get them to beg for my return, which I will graciously and humbly accept.', Ashley smiled grandly, as if it was a favor for her to be your friend.

'All right… I guess you WOULD know them better than I would…', Gretchen scratched her chin, considering it. Ashley smiled genuinely, excited that she was this close to a plan. 'Yes, yes! Turn those gears in your brain, Gretchen! You know my plan is TOTALLY FAB!'

'Hmm… Well, I do think we could use a few more details, but it's good as a start. If it's only one day too, I could handle that.', Gretchen agreed, and Ashley twirled with delight, like a hyperactive ballerina. 'LIKE, YES!'

'With a FEW conditions!'

Ashley swiveled in shock towards Gretchen, falling onto the ground. She dusted herself off in disgust. 'Eww, eww, eww!'. After taking ANOTHER tissue, she scowled at the genius. 'Conditions? Whatever happened to generosity?'

'It disappeared when you reared your ugly head into the world.', Gretchen barbed, giving her a dirty side eye.

'OH, I'LL, LIKE, TOTALLY DESTROY YOU!', Ashley A rabidly slashed at Gretchen, but Gretchen yawned. 'All right, I guess I'll be on my way… Leaving you here… Alone… Foreverrrrr…', Gretchen whispered, knowing the power was in her hands.

Ashley panic gasped and waved no. 'Wait, WAIT!', she scoffed and looked away. 'Fine. What-EVER. What do you want? I'll give you anything, as long as you get my clique back.'

'I want you to leave my friends alone.', Gretchen said with no hesitation when offered the world. 'You've hurt them over and over again. You and your friends. Leave us be, and I'll help you.'

'But…', Ashley started, indignant. Pulling schemes was part of the fun of being an Ashley! And Gretchen's friends were a main target!

But Gretchen began to walk away again. Ashley dashed to her other side to stop her. 'All right, all right! Pshaw, you are STUBBORN!', Ashley complained, Gretchen smirking in satisfaction. 'WE'LL leave you alone.'

'How do I know you're not going to go back on that?', Gretchen asked, eyeing her suspiciously. 'You could be crossing your fingers.'

Ashley, who was definitely considering it, sighed. 'There's no tricking you, is there?'

'Not if you want your friends back.'

Ashley bit her cheek, looking truly sad and lonely now. 'I do.' So hurt she sounded, that Gretchen nearly regretted her stipulations, but she needed them.

Ashley looked over at the clubhouse. Her safe place. She looked back at Gretchen, and took a deep breath. 'Fine. I… I pinkie promise!'

Gretchen gasped, and she wasn't the only one. A small gathering of kids surrounded them.

'A pinkie promise?'

'No kid breaks a pinkie promise!'

'Unless they want to answer to King Bob!'

'It's the most sacred promise in kiddom! Punishment of eternal exile if broken!', Gretchen commented, staring at Ashley in disbelief. She REALLY wanted her friends back, huh?

'I am well aware, Gretchen, ugh. Will you take the dang pinkie?', Ashley wagged impatiently.

Gretchen stared at it, and imagined how happy her friends would be. She instantly took the pinkie with hers.

'I pinkie promise to help you get your friends back.', Gretchen said in a hallowed tone.

'I pinkie promise that after that, the other Ashley's and I will leave you alone, forever.', Ashley A swore back, deathly serious.

They kept the stare and tightened the pinkie lock.

'...Deal!', they both said at the same time, and separated. The group clapped in enjoyment, then left to do anything else.

'Well, now that that's settled.', Ashley finished, walking off towards the school.

'Wait! One more thing!', Gretchen stopped her, and Ashley grumbled. 'Seriously? And they say I'M greedy!'

'It's not a pinkie promise clause. You don't have to do this, but I just feel like if I'm giving you an entire day, you could at least give me something back. I'm losing valuable time with someone like YOU.', Gretchen commented, shivering in disgust.

'Oh, I KNOW! Ugh, the thought of it makes me want to VOMIT! I guess I can relent. What ELSE do you want?', Ashley stated impatiently.

'Go with me to the museum. That's all.', Gretchen announced, shrugging.

'...Yes offense, WHY?', Ashley A asked in total confusion and disgust.

'Like I said before, I don't want to go alone. If I HAVE to spend an entire day in the mall doing… Ashley things, dear Einstein, you could at least do something I want in return! No one else can come, after all.'

Ashley shook her head. 'That is SO NERDY and GEEKY and NOT POPULAR! I could break out in hives! I can already feel my chest tightening. Oh, oh I'm dying…',Ashley collapsed to the ground. 'Mother, is that you?'

'Oh, Copernicus.', Gretchen commented with an eyeroll.

Ashley got up, dusting herself once more. She offered a 'noble sigh'. 'All right. I suppose in the spirit of generosity and kindness, qualities I possess in SPADES…'

'Humble too.'

'Why, thank you!', Ashley grinned. 'Anyway, I guess I COULD do that. It's the fair thing to do. Eww, that feels so unnatural.'

She then wagged a finger. 'However, if you can ask for a second condition, so can I!'

'Shoot.'

'Leave MY friends alone! You guys LOOOOVE to make fun of us, and send Spinneli to annoy us, and stop our schemes that don't even involve you! At least if we must leave you be, you can leave us, like, be!', Ashley said angrily.

Gretchen considered it. 'I guess if it grants what I want… We could do that. All right. Deal.'

'Deal.'

The two shook hands this time, staring each other down.

'...Well, see you after school! 3:01 sharp!', Gretchen remarked cheerfully suddenly, and ran off inside just as the bell rang.

Ashley laughed, delighted. 'Oh, yes! You did it, Ashley A! A sacrifice or two, and you're back to normal in no time!'

The idea of spending any time, even time at the mall, with Gretchen Grundler… Ugh. She felt like she could die.

'But it's just one day. ONE DAY. And everything will be alright again!', she said, happy tears flying off of her as she skipped towards school, light bursting in her heart for the first time since yesterday.

Finally updating consistently XD hoping you all are enjoying this! Don't forget to leave Kudos' and Review if you like the story!

Next Time: The longest chapter yet, as we see Ashley and Gretchen enact their scheme!