Lisa woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. She reached her hand over to her desk to turn the clock off, leaned forward, and wiped all the tiredness from her eyes.

She looked over at her alarm clock, and her eyes widened. "8:00 AM! But I usually have my alarm set for 7," she said to herself, going through the clock to see if she messed up the timer setting.

But as she checked, she heard chuckling outside of her room; the voice sounded familiar until she realised who it was. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Bart! What did you do to my alarm clock?" she asked, wondering why he had tampered with it.

Bart on the other side of the door happily said, "Oh, c'mon, Lisa, you don't always have to wake up so early; what's so difficult about having a nice extra hour of sleep? Sleep improves the mind, my sister." He chuckled, then changed to a serious tone: "Heads up, Lisa; Mom wants to talk to you downstairs about something important." Bart said as he walked away and entered the bathroom.

Lisa heard his footsteps get quieter, and she thought, "Well, he isn't wrong; more sleep improves the mind, however... Quit it, Lisa. Quit it. Don't listen to him. He's just messing with you." She thought in her mind and moved on to more significant news: "Why does Mom want to have a meeting with me?" She thought and moved out of her bed.

As Lisa got dressed, she walked downstairs to see Marge on the couch. Trying to ease the tension, Lisa waved at her and said, "Hey Mom, what's this all about? Bart told me you wanted to see me."

Marge nodded and tapped the couch to signal Lisa to sit next to her. Lisa sat next to Marge and said, "Lisa, I know Allison will come over to ours for a sleepover on Saturday, but just remember to be respectful of Bart, okay?

Lisa looked puzzled at Marge. In a confused tone, she said, "But why, Mom?" It's a sleepover. You know Bart is going to try to mess things up," she said, confused and wondering what her mom was trying to get at.

Marge continued, "I know Lisa, I know, but just remember that Bart's pranks are light-hearted fun, and he doesn't mean to hurt anyone with them, especially his sister, but keep a watch out because he can strike any minute now."

Lisa looked at Marge, confused, wondering what she meant by that. Before she could even consider the implications of Marge's words, she suddenly heard a loud popping sound. This caused her to jitter in place, which caused Marge to chuckle.

Regaining her composure, Lisa looked around to see where that popping sound came from. She looked up to see Bart peering over the couch with a massive smirk. "Hey Lisa, I'm just preparing you for the sleepover."

Lisa rolled her eyes and said, "That's very funny, Bart." Just remember not to make yourself look like a fool in front of her."

As Lisa glanced around the room, she felt a mixture of annoyance and amusement at Bart's pranks. She had to admit that his pranks were clever and amusing, but in the wrong situations, they could drive her crazy. However, in the end, she knew her brother was trying to have some light-hearted fun.

"Alright, Bart," Lisa replied composedly. "Just remember not to go too overboard with your pranks. Me and Allison will enjoy our sleepover no matter how many pranks you play on us."

Bart smirked, "Alright Lisa, I won't go overboard; however, I can't resist playing a few tricks here and there, and the main reason why I'm not going overboard is to not upset Mom."

Marge watched on with a smile, proud of her two oldest children for handling the situation responsibly." Just keep it light-hearted and calm, Bart, and Lisa; everything will be fine. Just remember not to get too annoyed with Bart's pranks. Learning how to deal with others is part of growing up."

Lisa sighed, knowing her words were right. She knew that deep down there were still brothers and sisters, so she shouldn't get too angry over some harmless pranks. She turned to Bart, who was now sitting next to her, and said, "OK, Bart, I'm determined to listen to what Mom said and not get annoyed by your wacky antics, but just remember this part: I will not fall for your pranks that easily."

Bart grinned, enjoying her confidence. "Challenge accepted."

As the day progressed, Lisa got to school with her mind still preoccupied with the thoughts of her sleepover on Saturday. During class, this caused her to not be able to focus on her work as much as she used to. This caused her to get some answers wrong.

After another couple of gruelling long hours in class, it was finally break time as all of the kids went to the playground to have fun.

As Lisa was about to exit her class, she heard Miss Hoover call her name. She turned to Miss Hoover. What do you need me for?"

Miss Hoover said, "I couldn't help but notice that your attention was off during today's lesson. Is something bothering you?"

Lisa shook her head. "No, Miss Hoovers, it's just that I'm excited about something, and it's admittedly making me not focus that well."

Miss Hoover smiled. "Well, I understand how it feels to not be able to concentrate on work when you're excited about something, but next time don't let that excitement distract you from class, okay?"

Lisa nodded, appreciating her teacher's advice. After her talk with her teacher, she left the classroom and went into the playground. She walked around the place, trying to find her friend. After some searching, she spotted her friend lying on her back next to a tree, playing her saxophone.

Lisa approached her friend and smiled. "Hey Allison, I could hear your saxophone playing from a mile away, and it sounds great as always." She sat next to her friend. "So what are you doing alone?"

Allison looked at her friend and grinned. "Well, I was waiting for you, silly, and I couldn't help but notice that our sleepover is making you really excited." She giggled at the last part.

Lisa laughed and said," I know, sorry; it's just that I've never had a sleepover before, so this is new to me." She smiled happily; however, as she said those words, she felt the weird feeling that something was missing, and then it hit her: "Allison, where's Alex?"

Allison, hearing Lisa's worry, said, "Oh, about it, Alex, she is sick and couldn't come to school today; her parents told me and said that she was very adamant to go to school today, but they couldn't let her come in today because of the cold she caught.

Lisa looked sad. Even though she didn't have the closest friendship with Alex, she still felt sad. As she thought more about it, she realised that Alex was rarely there when she spent time with Allison. Was Alex jealous of her and Allison's friendship? "No, that can't be right, can it?" she thought in her mind. Not wanting to alarm her friend, she didn't mention it.

Putting on a fake smile, she said, "Oh well, I bet the reason she wanted to come in so much is to talk to you."

Allison smiled upon hearing Lisa's words: "Yeah, I miss her too; however, because the cold she caught is bad, we won't see her again until Monday. Which will feel like forever, you know?"

Lisa nodded. "Yeah, it's going to feel like forever." Wanting to change the subject to a more fun one, she said, "But let's not get upset about that, and let's focus on the sleepover this Saturday!

As the two friends continued to chat about their up-coming sleepover, in the back of Lisa's mind, she wondered if her suspicions of Alex's jealousy of her and Allison's friendship were true. Not wanting to dwell on it and ruin Allison's conversation, she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She continued to chat with her friend.

While they chattered away, Bart and Nelson were on opposite sides of the playground, chatting about the sleepover his sister was having.

"So what pranks are you planning when Lisa's friend sleepovers at your house?" Nelson asked, intrigued.

Bart responded, "I'm not entirely sure, Nelson. I promised Lisa and my mom that I wouldn't go too overboard with the pranks, so I'm trying to keep it tame."

As Bart continued talking about the pranks he could pull, Nelson noticed Allison and Lisa sitting down under the tree.

Nelson yelled in anger, "Is that the weirdo who's coming to Lisa's for the sleepover?" He pointed over to them both, but luckily for Nelson, they were so busy chatting that they didn't notice him.

Listening to Nelson, Bart narrowed his eyes to get a better look. "Yeah, she's the one; why are you so curious?"

Nelson shrugged. "She's the one who stood me up in front of everyone; I called her a nerd, then she started playing her saxophone, which caused everyone to cheer. For her"

Bart nodded and smugly said, "Didn't you also enjoy her music, Nelson?" He said smugly and got closer to him, "Because that's what I heard from your friend."

Nelson, knowing he'd been caught, sighed, "Fine, her performance impressed me."

Bart grins. "Besides, why do you find Allison playing her saxophone nerdy anyway? Weren't you the one who had a crush on my sister a while ago and still do?" Bart said it teasingly, trying to get a reaction from him.

Nelson blushed, saying, "Hey, that was a while ago; I don't have a crush on her, I promise." He said it unconsciously, trying to think of a reason to make Bart embarrassed, and he said, "Wait a minute, you rarely defend people you barely know; it seems like you have a crush on Allison." He replied reassuringly, trying to get back at him.

Bart blushed and covered his face with his hands to hide his embarrassment. "No, of course not; you're just saying that to get a reaction out of me." He said it in a defeated tone, knowing that his plan to humiliate Nelson had backfired.

Nelson placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Sure, Bart, sure." He said it in a mocking tone and walked off, leaving Bart alone.

Bart looked at Lisa and Allison chatting and wondered if Nelson's words were true: "Do I really have a crush on Allison, or is it just Nelson messing with me?" He thought in his mind, "Well, there's only one way to find out, and that's tomorrow's sleepover."

Throughout the rest of the day, he couldn't concentrate in class; honestly, he knew he couldn't concentrate that much in class anyway because he found the things he was being taught boring and wanted to do something more entertaining, like doing tricks on his skateboard.

But today was different; he couldn't focus because of Nelson's words earlier. For some reason, those words stuck with him. He couldn't shake off the feeling that it might be true—he might have a crush on Lisa's best friend.

As he was deep in thought, he was woken up from his thinking state by his teacher. He looked up at his teacher, Miss Krabapel, who was used to Bart's odd behaviour in a lesson; however, seeing Bart's quietness and not making jokes in her class was worrying.

Miss Krabapel asked, "Bart, is something bothering you? You seem distracted."

Bart looked at her, and in his usual tone, he said, "Well, Miss K, aren't I always distracted by something?"

His teacher chuckled at his smart response: "Well yeah, Bart, but when you're distracted, you always make jokes. It's weird seeing you dead silent in class; there must be something bothering you."

Bart hesitated and opened up a little. "It's nothing serious; it's just some silly stuff Nelson said earlier, that's all." He said sheepishly:

Miss Krabapel nodded. "Well, ok, Bart, don't let Nelson's words distract you from class; apparently your sister was also distracted this morning about something as well.

Bart smiled at the last part, knowing what his teacher was referring to. He knew how much Lisa knew about her sleepover tomorrow; it was written all over her face. However, with Allison arriving tomorrow at the sleepover, he knew things would be interesting, maybe for the better or for the worse.

As the lesson came to an end, he began to wander through the school hallways. His sister's class finished a few minutes later, so he peered outside the door to check if his sister was okay. He kept telling himself that. He peered through the door and saw Lisa and her friend chatting about something—presumably the sleepover, he thought.

But while he peered through the door, Allison noticed his presence and smiled at him. He felt his cheeks flare up and gave her a cheeky grin. He then walked away from the door then began hos journey to find Nelson so he could confront him about what he had done to him.

Shortly after Bart's odd appearance at the door, Lisa and Allison spent their final moments at school planning their sleepover. This included what foods they planned to eat, what drinks they wanted to drink, what movies they wanted to watch, and many more. They decided that Allison could come over to Lisa's house at 18:30 p.m. tomorrow. When they both got out of school, they both decided to walk home together to talk about their excitement about the sleepover.

Bart continued his journey to find Nelson. After a couple of minutes of searching, he found him, strangely enough, at the playground, with his arms crossed and leaning over a fence. He began to walk up to him but stopped in place when he felt the odd cold breeze touching his body. From the cold breeze, he looked up and noticed the grey gloomy sky.

Bringing his attention back to Nelson, he walked over to him. "I better get this over and done quickly before it starts raining," he thought.

He took a deep breath and approached him, saying, "Hey Nelson, can I talk to you for a moment?" He said he was trying to sound confident.

Nelson looked up to see Bart. He smirked and asked, "Hey Bartman, did my words get you?"

Bart hesitated for a moment, thinking of the right words to say: "Yeah, they did, Nelson. I'm not sure if your words were right. What if I had do have a crush on Allison and I've just realised it?"

Nelson smirked softly, feeling sadness and amusement. "Are you really serious about this? Are you really worried about this, Bart?"

Bart nodded, feeling embarrassed. Nelson, deciding to drop the tough guy persona said for the moment said, "Well, Bart, what can I say? I guess your plan to embarrass me has backfired." He chuckled and said, "Let's get serious for a moment, Bart. People our age begin to develop feelings for people like I do for your sister. It's perfectly normal.

Bart sighed and looked down at the ground, knowing Nelson was right. Feeling enough confidence, he looked up and said, "So... you're not going to treat me differently about this, right? I have an image to uphold. You know and you do too."

Nelson chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, Bart, I won't treat you differently; you're still the same prankster and master of mischief that you've always been. Growing feelings for people is normal, Bartman."

Listening to his words, Bart smiled. "When you put it like that, I'm alright with it," he said, and felt a small drop of rain hit his head. He felt his head with his hand and felt the wetness. "I guess it's time for me to head back home now." He said it, wishing this moment with his friend would never end.

Nelson patted Bart on the back and said, I hope everything works out well, and after the sleepover, make sure to tell me what happened, OK?"

Bart nodded, appreciating his friend's concern, and began his return home. During the calming walk through the heavy rain, he felt a strange form of clarity, knowing his friend was on his side.

As he walked, the part that confused him the most was how out of nowhere, his crush on Allison came from. Did Nelson's teasing really spark off the flame inside of him, or did he always feel that way and pushed those feelings to the side until the right opportunity? The thing is, he didn't know, and that's what made him feel scarred.

After a long walk in the rain, Bart finally returned home. Opening the door, his mother gasped at the sight of her son completely wet.

"Goodness, Bart, what happened to you? You're completely wet through." She ran over to check on his clothes.

Bart, trying to lighten up the mood, said, " Mom, I'm fine; I just got caught up in the rain, that's all."

Marge rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. Well, alright then, Bart, just go upstairs and grab a towel to dry yourself up. Dinner is ready soon."

Hearing that his dinner was going to be done soon, he immediately rushed upstairs. While washing himself, he thought about how interesting the day had been for him, from finding out that he might have a crush on his sister's best friend to sort of having a heart-to-heart with Nelson. Nothing could get any weirder, he thought, that is until he looked outside his window and saw a familiar face.

Wait a minute. Isn't that supposed to be that Alex girl, lisa told me about a couple of days ago?" Bart thought, " Bart got a better view and noticed it was her; she was wearing a puffy white coat and some black joggers while holding an umbrella. He sighed when he noticed she wore that red beret above her head. He knew it must have been here because she has been hanging around Allison a lot lately.

Bart's curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the window and called her name, "Hey Alex!". What are you doing outside in the rain?" Bart asked, confused with her sudden appearance.

Alex was surprised by Bart's call and froze, but as she regained her composure, she said, "Oh nothing... I've just decided to go for a walk and clear my thoughts, you know? I can't be inside all day with a cold, so I've got to take advantage of Mother Nature and have some fun.

Bart raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced. "So you decided to walk outside our house for your walk? Don't you live far away from me and Lisa?"

Alex sighed, knowing she'd been caught. "Well, I came here to see if Allison was at yours, Bart. It seems like those two have been spending a lot of time together recently, and I've got something really important to tell her." Feeling saddened, she looked to the ground and said, " I can only tell her in person because it wouldn't be right to text her online."

Bart, feeling sympathy for her, said," Well, I'm sorry to hear that; however, Lisa told me you have a cold, so even if Allison was at mine, I wouldn't have let you in any way because I care about her safety.

Seeing Bart's choice of words raised Alex's eyebrow. "You care about her safety?" Alex asked."You haven't even met her yet."

Bart blushed, worried that he might have revealed too much. "What I meant was that... I want Allison and the rest of my family to be safe. Don't want them to catch a cold."

Alex nodded, understanding his concern. Yeah, I can understand not letting me in; that's fine. I bet Lisa and Allison had a lot of fun today," she said in a saddened tone.

Bart noticed the hint of sadness in her voice and immediately responded, "Yeah, they have been having a lot of fun today; they are even having a sleepover tomorrow." It hurt to reveal the last part to her.

Alexes eyes widened" Sleepover? what sleepover?"

Bart explained how, for the last couple of days, Lisa and Allison have been planning on having a sleepover at his tomorrow. Listening to his words, she felt a huge wave of sadness. "They have been planning this sleepover for a couple of days, and they didn't even tell me about it," she thought as the sadness got worse.

She looked up to Bart and said, "Well, it's been fun talking to you, but I've gotta head back home; the rain is getting too much."

Bart nodded as the two waved goodbye. Bart sat back on his bed and thought about the weird encounter he just had with Alex. He thought It was strange that neither of them invited her to their sleepover. This is especially true since they planned it a couple of days prior, so they couldn't even use the excuse that she was sick.

He got up from his bed and looked out of the window to see if she was gone, and to his surprise, she was. He looked out of the window as long as he could before he decided to go downstairs for his dinner. He thought about how weird today had been for him in general.

As he heard his mom shout his name, he knew his time was over. He began his journey downstairs.

Alex continued to walk through the heavy rain and entered a park. She noticed a completely wet bench, and not caring how wet she might get she decided to sit down and analyze her thoughts.

As she sat there with her thoughts, she remembered her past friendships. She remembered how she used to feel like she fit in with them. She was wearing trendy clothing, showing off her new perfume, and just being loud and not having a filter with what she said in general.

That was before she realised that she was being used for her belongings; she realised that because she was the most wealthy one out of her friends, they would sometimes steal her belongings and just say she lost them.

Until one day, her friends stole some of her belongings. She was so upset about it that she let it slide, she then confronted them the next day. They explained how she was making things up and how she was being paranoid. Realising that her friends only cared about her materials and not her feelings, she slowly disassociated herself from them.

Since that incident, she has been picky about the friends she wants to make. She didn't want to be friends with someone who would put her through the same pain and suffering she felt last time, until she met Allison. The difference between her and her past friends was that Allison never cared about her materials or how popular she was; she cared about her being herself. Alex felt a very strong bond between her and Allison.

But now that Lisa has become good friends with Allison and they have planned a sleepover without even inviting her, she feels the same sense of abandonment she felt with Allison from her old friends and the new feeling of jealousy that is slowly consuming her. She wants to know if her suspicion of Allison replacing her with Lisa was right, She felt a lot of emotions she couldn't even describe.

Sitting on the wet bench, Alex couldn't help but feel alone, like she was an outsider. She knew that she had to talk to her about her feelings at some point, but she knew that she had to do it in person because she could see her true reaction. However, because of the cold she has caught, she will have to wait until Monday. 'I hope waiting for Monday isn't too late for me, she thought as she watched the grey sky slowly fade into an ever-lasting black cloud.