| �Were you always this picky?� �Well maybe you should�a picked for me,� Natalie said, pertly. �I would�a made you a dog.� �A dog can play the guitar can�t it?� Natalie and Adam rolled their eyes at Shannon. She may have looked like Anna but she sure didn�t think or act like her at all. This girl really gave blondes a bad name. �I�m pretty sure dogs can�t play the guitar,� Natalie commented, smartly. �Oh,� Shannon replied, dumbly. Adam rolled his eyes and looked over at the latest body. They were in the home of a rich and successful lawyer who had been murdered in the cold blood by hit-men hired by her partner at her firm who she had unknowingly double-crossed. Her two children were at friends� houses and her husband had been called to the hospital for a surgery only he could perform. "Are you sure you don't want this one?" Adam asked sweetly. Natalie looked at the body one more time. "Um..." she mumbled softly. "No." Adam groaned softly and closed his eyes. Suddenly they were inside a fairly large and messy bedroom setting minus the bed. Bright lights from a vanity that occupied one entire wall illuminated the place and some candles on the other side flickered. There were clothes and makeup everywhere. �Oh my God!� Natalie gasped. �Surprised?� Adam said. �Is she..." Natalie asked, stepping closer to the body. "Dead?� �As a doornail,� Shannon said, staying next to Adam�s side. Natalie went to slap the girl�s face and hope to wake her but her hand passed right through, like a shadow. She gasped again. �It's just your soul, Nat,� Adam explained, �Natalie-the-body is six feet underground.� Natalie crouched down. �How�d she die?� Shannon pointed a finger to the vanity. Natalie stood and tried to figure out what the girl was pointing at. There was lipstick and three different kinds of brushes and lipgloss and mascara and a bandana and a waterbottle and� Natalie picked up the bottle of pills and shook it. It was empty. There was also another bottle, but it was tall and made of glass. Another empty bottle. An empty bottle of vodka. �Suicide?� Natalie asked, softly. Adam nodded. �Why?� �Pressure. Hype. Liars. I mean, it would all catch up to you eventually, wouldn�t it?� Natalie nodded. They were all silent for a moment, not looking at each other. Finally, Natalie looked up at the two, a wide grin on her face. �This is it,� she said, �I�m her.� Adam�s eyebrows rose. �Are you sure?� Natalie nodded, then shook her head no. �Wait, can I just try this baby out? You know, like a test drive. To see if I really do wanna live� you know? I mean, I can�t be�� she looked down at the lifeless body at her feet. �HER permanently.� �I can�t normally do this,� Adam said, doubtfully, �But- well, you are young. And you haven�t lived a full life. I guess-� He frowned and pondered about what to do. �Sure, why not? This is you until we find you another body.� Natalie nodded happily. �Score!� she squealed. Adam snapped his fingers and Natalie found herself lying on the ground. She stood up clumsily and looked into the mirror. �Hey,� she said, angrily, �I�m still me. I still look like me.� Shannon shook her head. �Well, yeah, but not to everyone else. It�s like, everyone else sees you as the body, but you see you as yourself, because, well, you�re you. It�s� I don�t know. It�s kind of hard to explain.� Natalie shook her head and gazed at her reflection. She was alive again. �No, no, I get it. I look like her, but I�m still me, so I�ll always see myself as me, even if no one else does.� The two nodded. There was a knock on the door and Natalie nearly jumped out of her new body. �Go ahead,� Adam said, �Answer it.� �Are you sure?� she asked, �I mean, are you sure I�ll look like her?� �You�re her now. You look like her, you sound like her.� �Ew,� Natalie wrinkled her nose. �But you�re still you inside,� he reminded. There was a knock again. �Hey, you awake in there? Everybody�s looking for you,� a voice from the other side of the door said. She stepped cautiously nearer to the door. �Should I?� �Go ahead,� Shannon prodded, �Answer it!� Natalie held her breath and opened the door. A tall, lean young guy was standing in the doorway in warm up pants and a T-shirt, a cup of coffee in one hand. All he had left of his hair was a short buzz and bit of a goatee poking out from his chin. She turned her head to look at Adam and Shannon for support, but they had disappeared. She was alone. She turned back to the guy and shock overcame her as she realized who he was. �You�re Justin Timberlake from �N Sync!� she whispered. Justin smiled and rolled his eyes, then took a sip of his coffee. �Come on, babe, you sound like a hysterical fan or something.� Natalie put her hands on her hips. �Excuse me, there is no way in hell that I would-� She shut her mouth when she noticed the strange look on his face. �Sorry, I don�t know what�s gotten into me. It�s like I�m a different person all of a sudden.� She paused. �Who am I?� He laughed and dropped his empty coffee cup, to pick her up and swing her around. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and he held her tightly, planting a soft kiss on her lips. �My little princess, Britney Spears, of course.� |