This is a longer chapter to make up for Slides Night 2! Will focus on showing the results which I have to be cautious about the word count.

Also happy belated Halloween! I know this is not a Halloween special as it is not the time of Halloween in the ZS universe, but I hope that holiday goes by amazingly for everyone here.

-= ⭐⭐⭐ =- (the stars smile at you)

Months passed since that heartbreaking day in the peaceful town of Wallowsberg. To Carol, the days felt more lively and optimistic than what she had experienced before. She was glad to stroll through the streets, head held up high as she ventured through this small town. She passed by Joel miserable with his new girl a few times but that is unimportant.

December rolled by quicker than she expected. She counted down the days til the day she got to move out. If she were to be honest, she felt a mixture of emotions. She was ready to start a new adventure, she was ready to move on. But she was not ready to leave her nest behind.

It is the day before the move-out and her friends decided to host a last-minute lunch at their usual place- the diner near the school. Although she did not prefer to have a plan last minute, Carol was grateful that her friends wanted to do one more lunch together before she, Sabrina and Phoebe made their separate ways.

They sat at their usual spot at the diner- the corner table at the back of the diner, away from the window but close to one of the hanging TVs. Light jazz music filled up the room's atmosphere with joy and excitement.

Carol, Sabrina, Phoebe and their four closest friends shared their last lunch over the diner's famous burgers, chilled colas and a large basket of thick, crispy fries. They always went with this meal every Friday after school. Carol knew she would miss this little corner when she moves out.

"Can't believe it..." one of the friends said softly, twirling her pink swirled straw in her iced cola. "Tomorrow is moving day." She looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, "I don't think I am ready."

"Don't think anyone is," another friend agreed after finishing off his burger. He wiped his mouth with a white serviette with the diner's red-rimmed design around the edges and logo in the middle. "It's gonna feel a lot different without you three here."

"I'm sure you can manage us not being here." Sabrina popped a fry in her mouth.

"It's gonna feel weird getting used to. I mean, you three are staple here."

Carol, Sabrina and Phoebe shared a look. "I don't think that is true-" Sabrina started before her friend cut her off.

"It is true! I mean, you three created this friend group!" the girl with the auburn curls threw her hands out. "If it weren't for you three, we wouldn't have been as close as we are today. It's just... I don't think any of us is ready to see you go. What if this is the end of our friend group?"

"You know, just because we are leaving, it doesn't mean that our friendship is over! We can still chat, just not face to face." Phoebe picked up a fry and swirled it around in the air as she was conducting a spell, "And even when we all drift apart from this friendship, remember all the good times we had. And that's something I treasure."

Sabrina nodded, "Friends can come and go. Some would stay strong while others drift apart. But it's the memories that make it worthwhile. We may be drifting apart from you but we had such fond memories." Carol and Phoebe nodded their heads. "Connections are not always strong but they are memorable."

Then one of the friends burst into tears. "That's-" she sniffed and fanned herself with her hands before brushing her black hair to the back, "You always say the smartest stuff, Bri. We'll miss that a lot. We'll miss the three of you."

"Aimee, please don't cry..." Phoebe's eyes welled up.

"I'm sorry! I promised myself to stay strong! I don't like crying but this is different."

"Let it all out. It's healthy to cry." Carol noticed her voice, which she usually made sure to keep calm and cheerful, had started to quiver.

She turned to her friends next to her and noticed Phoebe had already started to sob. Sabrina remained quiet but Carol noticed her friend's eyes were glossy.

Carol reached for her drink and raised the glass high, "A toast to our friendship and the fond memories here in Wallowsberg." Her friends followed after her and raised their glasses in the air. "Let us all cherish what we have and hope for a bright future. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the group chorused as they clinked their glasses together.

As the lunch rolled by, the group remained at their little spot. Everyone ordered the diner's well-known banana split for themselves. As they chattered and enjoyed their dessert, the sunlight faded away and the room went dark to the point that the workers had to turn on the lights.

"Ugh... rain? On our last day?" Phoebe whined as she noticed tiny drops on the large paned windows.

"It doesn't look that bad. It's just drizzle." a friend pointed out.

"That's one thing I won't miss from here. Wallowsberg's strange yet expectant weather." Carol rested her hand on her cheek. "It's December as well! Why now?"

"Um actually, this weather such as rain, is an impo-"

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Ok David, don't go into your usual tangents."

"I just want to talk about rain-"

"Let him talk about the rain, Sabrina," Carol nudged her friend with a laugh. Sabrina shook her head and smiled.

"Fine."

After the group had finished off their desserts, it was time to go. Aimee, the friend who was the first to cry, demanded the group to stay back. She sipped on her soda slowly to hold the group back. Carol knew that was coming, her friend is the most stubborn out of everyone.

The group decided to stay a little longer so that Aimee could finish her drink. Carol stood up from her spot. "I'll be back," she reminded her friend group, "Just need to take a bathroom break."

"Take your time."

"Thanks, Maddie." Carol rolled her eyes before she left the table to find the girls' bathroom. She found the door and stepped inside with zero thoughts.

However, after she finished her time inside, a thousand thoughts filled her head when she stepped out and noticed a familiar boy waiting near the door.

She scowled when she noticed who it was.

Joel.

- = ⭐⭐ =- (Bob and Zoe return to their home after a day at the picnic and dropping Jay off)

It had turned out that the announcement to gather was a false alarm. The group found out from Leo's text in the group chat that Lily was still unprepared. To pass the time, everyone decided to have an additional ten-minute break so that the Leos could prepare themselves. During the break, Phoebe, Levin and Tyler wandered inside House 2 to help.

Vincent sat at his piano and pulled out the basket under the seat. As he ran his fingers through the sheets and music books, he picked up a certain music book and opened up to a bookmarked page. Kicking the basket back in place, he rested the book on the classical piano's music desk and hovered his fingers over the keys.

Then he started to play a soft and gentle piece. His thin hands danced gracefully across the keys as the sounds of a lullaby filled the room. His eyes never left the notes on the page as they grew slower before they picked themselves up again.

He sensed a small audience had surrounded the piano. He did not turn back to see who watched but instead quickened the song and made it playful.

He heard someone continuously press their finger on one of the piano's end keys. His eye twitched at the sound. Then he heard Cameron scolding the person, Alyssa, which made Vincent smile.

His euphoria didn't last long as he missed a part. Vincent slammed his hands on the keys. "Every. Single. Time!" He rested his head on the keys and faced Cameron who watched over with a frown. "I'll never get this song right."

"What's the song?" one of the audience members, Giselle, asked.

"Dolly's dreaming and awakening..." Vincent looked up. He shook his head. "I have been playing this song for months but I can't do the awakening part right."

"That sums you up well on your awakening." everyone turned to Pete in the audience who commented.

"Ei-Either way. I hate this song. I hate everything. Why must things be so hard."

"Babe, don't beat yourself up for one song..." Cameron sat next to his boyfriend and gave him a side hug. "You played well. I could never reach that level."

"You're saying that just to make me feel better."

"No, I mean it. Watch." Cameron reached a hand onto the keys and played the first seven notes of 'Twinkle Twinkle'.

"The classic." Vincent smiled.

"Yep! That's nothing compared to your level."

"Is this your method of trying to cheer me up?"

"Yes."

"Well, good job babe. It's working.

"Ahem." the Virgo and Capricorn turned around to the back and noticed Alyssa with Pete, Giselle, and Sam. "You are aware that we are here, right."

From behind Sam, Cleo peeked out. "Also we caught you red-handed, Vincent."

"NO!" Vincent glowered at the youngest, "That was a mistake! I don't mean it!"

"Sure..." Cleo held up her phone. She tapped a finger on the screen.

'Well, good job babe. It's working.'

She tapped again.

'Well, good job babe.'

And again.

'Well, good job babe.'

"Why were you recording in the first place?" Vincent asked.

"I was recording myself and you were loud." Cleo showed her phone around a clip of her doing a wink. She played the video again.

'Well, good job babe. It's-'

"Vivian!" Vincent whined at his counterpart who walked over to see the commotion, "Tell off your sister please!"

Vivian turned to her sister who immediately pulled off the puppy-dog eyes. "You mean this little angel here?" She cupped her sister's face in her hands. "Look at her! Isn't she a sweetheart?"

Cleo's face lit up and turned to Vincent. Vincent made a few spluttering noises.

"NO? She's no angel! You and I both know how much of a... a... little piece of sh** she is!"

"...What?" Cleo's bottom lip wobbled and she buried her face behind her hands, "WAAAAAAH! Vincent called me something mean!"

"What the heck, Vincent? I understand your frustration but really? In front of my sister?" Vivian embraced her sister in a hug. "It's okay, shhh, shhh."

"Wow, Vincent. Can't believe you are beefing with a child. That's pathetic, man." Alyssa patted Cleo's back, "In front of Sam, Cameron and Vivian too." She tsked and joined everyone else in comforting her.

"She's in Year Twelve, Alyssa!"

"Still a child."

"THAT'S A TEENAGER NOT A CHILD?! She shouldn't be acting like a giant baby at this age!"

"Is that necessary to call my counterpart that?" Cameron turned to his boyfriend.

"I'm not wrong, am I? She's not being fair in this case! Don't tell me you're buying into her antics too!"

"I'm staying neutral."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Well, how am I supposed to pick between my counterpart and my boyfriend?"

"Then you'll pick me 'cause you've known me longer and also the fact that we are dating. And also the fact that my feelings are hurt here."

"Hey guys!" Tyler ran into the sunroom with Levin. "The Leos are ready to start their presentation! Get into your seats please!" Everyone in the group cheered and made their way to the seats.

"Do we have to take our seats?" Vincent frowned, not wanting to talk with Cleo in the area.

"Yes Vincent," Cameron squeezed his hand. "We have to."

"Gosh dar-" Vincent nodded. "Fine."

One thing's for sure. He wished someone at least took his side.

-= ⭐⭐ =- (Bob and Zoe are dancing in their living room)

"Alright," Phoebe stepped into the sunroom. She placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the area. "Everyone is in their seats! Perfect!" She sat next to Tyler on the beanbag and snuggled close.

"Can someone tell us at least what is going on?" Skyler asked out of the blue, "Why are you three in a hurry? What is Levin doing near the door? Why is the projector screen red? Why is Phoebe next to Tyler?"

"Why not?" Phoebe giggled as she flicked on the flashlight of her phone. She shone the light on her face as she was about to tell a scary story. "Ooooooh!" She and Tyler then laughed.

"That doesn't answer the question." Skyler looked up and noticed the lights had dimmed. The room darkened except for the glow from the fairy lights and the flashlight's light. "Levin, what was that about?"

"Shhhh..." Levin silenced him. Then he got out his phone and turned on the flashlight. Tyler got out his phone and did the same. So did Phoebe. Carol. Colin. Lizzy. Giselle. Gilbert. Pete. Cleo. Cameron.

"What is going on?" Sam asked when he noticed Tyler with the Cancers, Libras, Geminis, Pisceans and Capricorns had their flashlights faced at the door leading to House 2. "Can someone-" His voice got cut off by Phoebe's phone blasting on a confidence booster song suited for a runway. "Wh-"

"Shhh!" Sienna nudged him. "Things are getting interesting."

Sam frowned. "How-" He and the audience gasped when the sliding doors slammed open and Leo strode in.

Leo dazzled himself in a suit with a black shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned, cream suit pants and a cream-coloured blazer. Perched on his face were a pair of sunglasses that he wore when he arrived at the slumber party. He gestured a hand out to the entrance where Lily stood. The crowd gasped again.

Lily strutted into the sunroom wearing a long black formal dress held up by thick straps. Accompanied with her dress, Lily wore long black gloves, a silver choker around her neck as well as dangling silver earrings. Her curly blonde hair was pinned up into an updo.

She took Leo's hand and the two strutted to their spots. Everyone noticed Lily struggled to keep her balance due to her black stilettos. She managed to keep things professional and made sure not to fall over.

Tyler pressed a button on his laptop and a curtain effect happened on the projector revealing the title of the presentation: 'Zodiac Street besties as types of celebrities'. The flashlights got turned off and Levin turned on the lights before he took his seat.

Leo reached into the pocket of his blazer. "Welcome to our..." he pulled out a bunch of gold confetti and threw it to the audience, "presentation! Today we will be analysing everyone here as celebrities!"

The audience oohed at the sound of the presentation. "This is very fitting!" Alex found themself commenting.

"Before we start," Lily picked up the remote from the table under the projector and pressed a button showing the next slide which defined the introduction, "Uh... a little rundown of celebrities, they are defined as being famous people in different atmospheres. This involves sport and entertainment and any field. Celebrities are people known as public figures. They are not limited to movie and show stars and musicians. Celebrities include writers, scientists, activists, talk show hosts- basically anyone well-known. For this presentation, we will categorise everyone as celebrities and we will do this by going by each element."

"First off," Leo gestured to Lily to proceed to the next slide, "Water signs-"

"Wait." Sienna raised her hand, "I thought the order was fire, earth, air and water."

"We're saving the best for last."

"Oh."

"Anyways, water signs. Colin, Carol, Skyler, Sabrina, Pete and Phoebe." Leo received the remote from Lily and circled the pointer around. Starting with Colin, as he is passionate about art, he would be a celebrity in the art field. Carol could also fit this but she can also fit being a talk show host as well."

"Skyler would be a celebrity in the science field since he is passionate about sciences. As for Sabrina, Pete and Phoebe... we decided that they are actresses and actors. Sabrina would be an actress in movies. Phoebe would also be either a movie star, a drama film star or a well-known author. And Pete would fit being a sitcom actor."

"Sitcom sounds very interesting!" Pete gasped, brushing a hair through his fluffy black hair. "I can see myself in it."

"I feel like Sabrina would be the celebrity that everyone has a celebrity crush on." Vivian pointed out, "I mean everyone knows she has this cool aura around her."

Sabrina placed a hand on her chest, "Thank you?? I have no idea how to respond to this."

Lily nodded. "Take it as a gift. Anyways," the next slide showed the air signs, "Air signs! Arlen is well known in the mechanics field. And Aika is a world-famous popstar who has sold out shows."

"Expected." Aika nodded with a smile.

"For Libras, we have decided to put them both as models. Seeing as Libra and Taurus are ruled under Venus and all. Lizzy also creates her own brand seeing as she designed clithes. I don't know if she still does that, while another idea we had for Levin is on the idea of being a voice actor for shows and games- seeing has his voice is soft and elegant."

"Funny part is, part of me wants to open up a clothing business." Lizzy laughed. "Also I still do it. I mean I made this dress I am wearing!"

"And that proved more on our slide. Now for the Geminis, we decided that Giselle would either be a model, an actress or a socialite."

"Fitting." Giselle nodded.

"And Gilberta would be a talk show host. His is hard but it felt right."

"I hope he doesn't get fired on day one." Arlen turned to his housemate.

"Wait, him being a talk show host would be cute. I mean he would interview everyone here and be passionate to know their interests!" Tahlia pointed out. "And he is well connected to everyone." The group murmured voices of agreement while Gilbert hid his pink face behind a cushion.

"Moving on! Earth signs!" Leo captured the group's attention. "Starting things off, Cleo would be a movie star or a model or a social media influencer. Cameron would be a comedian since puns. Vivian, we see as an author or an activist or both. Vincent would be a musician or a composer seeing as he plays piano."

"He could fit being a movie actor as well?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Could be. Anyways for the Taurus, Tahlia would be a model or a photographer, hers was hard. Tyler would be a well-known developer or an actor for a show."

"Show actor?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, more specifically a sitcom one." Leo nodded.

"Strange, I see everyone as sitcom celebrities."

"Imagine that though!" Phoebe gasped, "All of us in one show. What would it be called?"

"I think I know what that answer is..." Cameron turned to the imaginary cameraman. (smile and wave, smile and wave)

"We're up to the fire signs, right?" Sienna asked.

"Mhm!" Leo gestured to the next slide, "This one is the easiest, except for Alex's. Anyways, Sienna would be a socialite or a social media influencer. Sam would be a well-known director seeing as it is his passion. Either that or a screenwriter. I am a movie star, and Lily's an actress in theatre. Alyssa's an athlete or an Olympian. And Alex..."

"Alex we decided to make them one of those celebrities that are an all-rounder. They act, sing, perform, advocate. Basically everything." Lily finished off.

After defining the celebrities, the group listened as the Leos explained how celebrities are not limited to one action. The two recalled how the term is used in every context before they wrapped everything up with a curtsey and a bow.

Aika held a hand out towards the Leos. "Please give a round of applause to Lily and Leo. You two set a new high bar!" Everyone applauded and the Leos switched spots with the Cancers. "Next up, we have Team Cancer, it appears."

"Yep!" Colin confirmed as he and Carol stood at the front.

-= ⭐⭐ =- (Bob and Zoe decide to head back to the car for a drive)

Colin and Carol presented their slides on the topic 'What will the residents of Zodiac Street do in ten years?'.

Cleo pointed at the presentation. "Someone in the future needs to remind our future selves of this presentation if we ever reunite many years into the future."

"Like a time capsule, right? Only the thing of the past would be a presentation." Carol giggled.

"And what would the next generation of Zodiac Street say to this? As in the kids?" Lizzy tilted her head to the side.

"Probably confused or very lost in the topic that their parents and their friends started to talk about." Skyler guessed.

"Oh yeah, I can see that happening."

"Either way. Gonna start the presentation. In ten years," Colin proceeded to the next slide which focused on jobs, "Mostly everyone would be getting their dream jobs."

"Mostly?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah mostly. Some of us would be lost on our path and some of us would offer to stay home until something pops up."

"Yep! Also in ten years," Carol pressed the remote button to proceed to the next slide which focused on family and pathways, "We would separate on our paths to seek new journeys, some of us are family-focused in our paths, others are job focused, and there's some who just want to branch out."

"I know Arlen is one of the family-focused ones." Gilbert teased. "Creating a wolf pack since he's an alpha male."

"Gilberta, this is getting tiring." Arlen narrowed his eyes at his housemate.

"It's the truth! Just accept it, wolf boy."

"Gilberta..." Arlen groaned, "You know, I wish you were on fire."

"Why?"

"Because that way if I had a bottle of water-"

"Vase." Gilbert corrected. "You're an Aquarius so that would be a vase of water."

Arlen rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Because in that way, if I had a vase of water, I'd drink the water."

"That's okay because I have Aika's vase of water."

"No, I'd drink her vase of water too."

"Wow, a hydrated wolf. That's inspirational."

"Oh my g-"

"Hey, can we continue?" Colin interrupted. The two nodded and Colin proceeded with the presentation, "Due to pathways, a common worry would be expanding our strange friendship together. So in ten years," he showed the next slide which focused on connections, "we wouldn't be as close as we are now."

"What?" someone in the audience asked, hurt. Everyone turned to Sienna who commented.

"Well, we would be close, just not as often as our common state. We will be busy with our own lives and probably move on to other friend groups."

"But surely, there is a way we can maintain that connection... I don't want to lose this friend group..."

"I understand." Carol nodded contentedly. "You know before coming here, our friend Phoebe had shared some words of advice."

Phoebe scrunched her face, "I did?"

"Yeah! At the old diner, you and Sabrina shared advice. You said that even when everyone drifts apart we have to maintain that relationship by resorting to other methods like texting and when that does not go to plan, we can cherish the memories. You said that Phoebs."

"Huh." Phoebe blinked, "Is it bad that I never remembered my advice?"

"No, it's not. And Sabrina stated that connections may not be strong but the memories are. We may break apart but I will still remember the time here. And it shows because I drifted apart from Sabrina and Phoebe's friendship but we still hold memories close to us."

"Wow, that's too deep." Colin mused.

"Sorry! It's something I had to say!"

"It's not a bad thing, Carol. It's the truth." Colin faced the audience and sensed the dull atmosphere. "Either way, we can make this work! This is something future us would have to face."

"Here's an idea," Leo suggested, "Let's keep the group chat up and running, and organise a weekly meetup. That way we won't lose the friendship." The audience expressed voices of agreement.

"If we can maintain the group chat for ten or more years, that is." Skyler pointed out.

"I believe that we can."

"We hope so, only time can tell." Carol smiled before she and Colin resumed the rest of their presentation which predicted every individual. Everyone applauded, most of the group emotional than the rest when the two finished their presentations.

"Thank you Team Cancer! Team Libra, it's your turn! Give it up for Levin and Lizzy!"

"GO LEVIN!" Lily cheered from her spot with Tyler and Phoebe applauding louder than the others. Levin stood up from his spot and gave a thumbs up. He helped Lizzy up.

-= ⭐️⭐️ =- (They are driving down a peaceful road, windows rolled down)

The next three presentations whizzed by quicker than the group expected. As everyone marvelled at the presentations, the view outside the windows turned darker and the room felt colder. Vincent quickly ran inside the house and returned with a heater and blankets to warm up the group as the day turned into the night.

Starting the next batch was Levin and Lizzy's presentation called 'Ranking everyone's social media selfies from least favourable to most'. Nobody was surprised when Levin's was last.

"I should've seen this coming." Leo shook his head.

"I like his posts, though!" Lily said loudly.

"Lillian, please be real here." Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Your boyfriend's social media has no photos of him and instead has two photos of a landscape of that hike you took together."

"But those photos are pretty!"

"Babes, his profile picture is a landscape."

"Still pretty."

"Man, the power of love shields you from the truth. Disappointing."

"You do realise, even I agreed with this placement?" Levin chuckled much to Lily's dismay, "There's no photos in sight. I get uncomfortable with selfies."

"How? You are a literal model?" Gilbert frowned.

"I don't see myself like that at all. Also selfies still scare me. I also don't use social media much." (omg he's literally me).

"Anyways moving on!" Lizzy called out and resumed the presentation. She and Levin showed the next placements afterwards. Vincent, Skyler, Pete, Cameron, Alyssa, Lily, Tyler, Carol, Aika, Alex, Arlen, Sabrina, Tahlia, Gilbert, Lizzy, Leo, Vivian, Sam, Colin, Sienna, Cleo, Giselle and finally...

"Phoebe?!" Skyler exclaimed when Phoebe was ranked first place. "I thought Giselle would be in first place?"

"I am surprised Colin's is high up there." Alyssa leaned forward in her spot.

"It makes sense. Colin pays attention to details seeing as he is an artist." Alex muttered.

Colin ran a hand through his curly ginger hair. "I just want to make sure it is perfect... it's nothing more than that."

"I wasn't expecting me to be high up," Vivian mumbled. "I thought I was lower than that."

"Yeah, that surprised me, but not as much as mine." Gilbert turned from Vivian to the screen.

"Thank you Libras!" Tahlia called out. Everyone applauded for the two.

After Team Libra was Team Gemini. Their presentation is called 'Analysing all of the ships of Zodiac Street'.

"I'm scared," Vivian mumbled after she read the title.

"Fun fact, Gilbert wanted to add in the idea of using artificial intelligence to see what each couple's future child would look like and rank them in a tier list," Giselle said matter of factly.

"That's even worse!"

"Yep." Giselle nodded. "Which is why I told him no. He listened. Surprisingly."

"Surely these rankings can't be that bad, right?"

"Well..." Gilbert scratch the back of his head. "Oh hey, look! The first ship ranking. Alyssa and a donut. We both loved the ship."

"I like this presentation!" Alyssa raised a fist in the air.

The audience watched silently as the two Geminis commented on each of the ships. People held onto their breaths when their names showed up but breathed a sigh of relief when Gilbert and Giselle complimented on the ship.

Only Arlen, Skyler and Vincent were disappointed at Gilbert's comments. Vincent was disappointed about the paragraph of 'DENIAL's from Gilbert and Arlen clenched his fist when he read 'JUST ADMIT YOU ARE A WOLF'. Skyler on the other hand was disappointed on the Skybert slide.

"I find it funny that I am nowhere in this presentation." Sienna popped some popcorn in her mouth.

"Don't worry," Carol reached for the bowl of caramelised popcorn, "I am not there too."

"You would be if you and Skyler were still together."

"That is true."

After the Geminis conducted their presentation, it was Pete and Phoebe's turn. Their presentation is named 'Signs that Skyler likes Gilberta'.... wait, what?

"Signs that Skyler likes Gilberta." Phoebe proceeded to the next slide, "Number one."

"You like him!" Pete smirked.

Skyler made a cross with his arms. "Nuh-uh. NUH-UH! I hate this presentation."

"We're only joking, that isn't even our presentation. This is." Phoebe clicked a button on the remote which showed the actual title: 'Assigning a song to each resident of Zodiac Street based on Phoebe's playlist'.

The audience oohed over the title. As the two Pisceans presented, most of the group was happy with their songs. Sabrina and Skyler were the happiest of the group as they got a song from their favourite K-pop group.

"Never mind, I like this presentation." Skyler smiled when he got a song on dancing the night away.

Some of the group were curious about their songs as they never heard of them before. They made a mental note to listen to the song later.

A thunderous round of applause happened when Pete and Phoebe finished presenting.

"Thank you both of you for this amazing presentation!" Vincent called out. "The last team is Team Capricorn. Cameron, Cleo. Good luck." Everyone else applauded for the final two as they made their way to the front.

-= ⭐️⭐️ =- (The two park their car near the beach and watch the sunset together)

"Alright..." Cameron looked down at the microphone he gripped and noticed his arm had started to shake. He pressed his lips to a thin line and nodded. "Think I'm ready. Cleo, are you ready?"

"Hold on," Cleo shook her hand, her charm bracelet ringing in every shake. "Yep." She breathed out. "Ready."

"What's your presentation on ba- I mean, Cameron." someone called out.

"Vincent, there's no need to hide the fact that you called Cameron 'babe'. Everyone already knows."

"Shut up, Vivian."

"Hey," Cameron clicked his fingers and pointed at the Virgos. "Shut up." Vincent and Vivian immediately zipped their mouths. "Thank you. Anyways. Welcome everyone, to... drumroll please?"

The audience performed a drumroll on the floor and their laps. Cameron pressed a button and the dark background unveiled itself to reveal the title card with animated lights. 'Are you the GOAT?- a trivia' was the title. The audience gasped when they heard the loud game show-themed music in the background of the presentation.

"Are you the greatest of all time! A trivia conducted by your hosts Cameron and Cleo!" Cameron jazz-handed at the screen, his voice blending in with the music. He turned to Tyler, "Tyler can you please lower the volume a bit?" He nodded after his housemate lowered the sound. "Thank you, that is enough."

"This is a trivia on simple general knowledge questions of this neighbourhood, on some of the people here as well, our town's history as well as some general knowledge questions." Cleo placed her hands on her hips. "This quiz has twelve questions each with a twenty-second timer and catchy music."

"You are required to answer the questions on your phone under notes. Open up a new page and put one to twelve down the page. You would be answering with the letter of the answer when it pops up. Please start your quiz now." Cameron watched as most of the group fished out their phones and followed through the directions.

"Cameron, Cleo? My phone is not on me." Alyssa raised her hand.

"Where's your phone?"

"On charge."

"You can use this." Cleo passed the whiteboard with the zodiac order to Alyssa. "Don't worry about the numbers. Vivi already did that."

"Sweet!" Alyssa rubbed off the zodiac names.

"Hey, give me credit for the numbers!" Vivian turned her head to her friend and looked up and down. "Thank me at least?"

"Thanks, mother!"

"Sh**." Phoebe cursed. "Phone just died. Does that mean I can still play?"

"Well, you need something to write your answers on." Cameron frowned. "If you don't have anything, then it means you would just have to watch the others."

"I don't have anything else... aw..." Phoebe slumped her shoulders.

"You can share with me!" Tyler, next to her, squeezed her close to him. "We can put both our answers on my phone!"

"You sure?" Phoebe looked up into his warm brown eyes behind the round-framed glasses. Receiving his warm smile back, she nodded. "Alright! Perfect. Still in the game."

"How adorable." Cleo smiled, a hand on her chest.

"Get a room." Cameron rolled his eyes.

"Gee thanks, Cam." Tyler narrowed his eyes at his friend before he created another list of twelve on the same page.

"Everyone ready?" Cameron turned to the audience.

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" Tyler and Lizzy called out.

"Geez you two, hurry up. We haven't got all day!" Alyssa frowned at the two.

"Well, I'm almost done creating Phoebe's list." Tyler focused on his phone, "Okay now I'm done."

"And I'm on number eight right now." Lizzy held her phone to Alyssa.

"Elizabeth, why are writing the numbers in word form? Why can't you put them in numbers for less time wasted? Or even Roman numerals?"

"I am doing this for the aesthetic, Alyssa."

"Lizzy please be real here. Are aesthetics more important or is being practical more important?"

"Aesthetics."

"You are a disappointment."

"No need to call me that. I'm gonna hurry up."

"Okay once Lizzy is done, we can start," Cameron announced to the group.

"Done!" Lizzy held up her phone in the air. She narrowed her eyes at Alyssa who commented 'Took you long enough'. "We starting now?"

"We're starting now." Cameron pressed a button and showed the next slide which showed a question and four answers. "What date was Cameron born in? Is it A, 26th of December? B, 1st of January? C, 30th of December. Or D, 3rd of January?" He pressed the button again and showed the next slide which was similar to the one before but with a working twenty-second circle timer. The audience set down their answers.

"Question two!" Cleo announced when the timer ended and the two proceeded to the next slide. "Wha-"

"HEY, WAIT I WASN'T DONE!" Pete called out.

Vincent caught a glimpse of Pete's phone and scoffed. "Maybe don't write the entire answer out and instead answer with the letter?"

"Oh."

"Yeah just answer with the letter. Anyways!" Cleo gestured to the projector. "Question two! What time was Cleo Caster born in? Is it A, 8 pm? B, 3 pm? C, 2 am? Or D, 12 pm?"

"That's not fair! Nobody knows this! I thought early questions were easy. Also," Skyler extended his hand to the screen, "why are the first two questions on you two?"

"Why not?" Cameron and Cleo answered. Cameron pressed the button and showed the next slide which added a timer.

The group proceeded through the trivia until they reached the last question. By the time the last question was over, Cleo turned to the group. "That's all the questions done! Are you ready for the answers?"

"YES!" chorused the group.

"Alright!" Cameron proceeded to the next slide which showed the answers. "The answer to the first question is B, the first of January. The answer to question two is C, which is two in the morning." He proceeded through the answers until the end. "Please check your answers and tally up the total amount of correct answers. Once you are finished, please raise your hand."

"I'm done!" Gilbert's hand flew into the air. Everyone else followed pursuit after they received their result.

"Alright, now we are going to see the placements. If your result is not mentioned, please put your hand down." Cleo clasped her dainty hands together. "Alright. Keep your hand up if you got one or more answers correct."

Nobody put their hand down.

"Oooh. Two or more correct?"

Same result.

"Three or more?"

Same result.

"Four or more?"

Alyssa, Gilbert, Colin and Pete put their hands down.

"Five or more?"

Tyler put his hand down. He passed his phone to Phoebe.

"Six or more?"

Alex, Carol, Lily, Levin, Lizzy, Sam, Sienna and Phoebe put down their hands.

"Seven or more?"

Sabrina and Arlen lowered their hands.

"Eight or more?"

Tahlia, Giselle, Vincent and Vivian lowered their hands.

"Nine or more?"

Leo lowered his hand.

"Ten or more?"

The final two; Skyler and Aika, lowered their hands.

"Wait who just lowered their hands again, can you raise them again?" Cameron asked. Skyler and Aika raised their hands. "Wait can we look through your phones?"

The remaining two passed their phones to the presenters who checked the results.

"Incredible! A two-way tie!" Cameron passed the phones back. "Congratulations Skyler and Aika! You both win prizes bought by me and Cleo. We'll send them to your place when we get them."

"WHAT? THERE'S PRIZES?!" Gilbert pointed to the hosts. "YOU NEVER TOLD US THAT!"

"Whoops."

"How did Leo get to the top three? Higher than Vincent, Vivian and myself?" Arlen pointed to the Leo male.

"Bro, I guessed most of the time. And also made calculations." Leo answered.

"That included question two? I got that wrong."

"I picked C because it looked like the odd one out. I had a feeling that the other questions were trick answers." Leo explained.

"Now that's working smarter." Cleo pointed to her friend. "Because of that, Leo gets a prize too."

"What about me?" Gilbert batted his eyelashes.

"Not you, sorry."

"Aww..."

"And that concludes this presentation!" Cameron went to the next slide. The audience whooped and cheered loudly.

They remained loud when Vincent got up from his spot and stood next to the Capricorns. He received the microphone from Cameron and turned to the loud audience. "Um."

Cameron performed a clapping rhythm to grab attention. Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.

The audience clapped back. Clap, clap, clap-clap-clap.

"Thank you." Cameron nodded. He turned to Vincent who raised his microphone close to his lips.

"Well done everyone!" Vincent smiled as he surveyed the room. "We have completed all twelve presentations- hold the cheering. Congratulations to everyone here. You did an amazing job presenting. Okay, now you can cheer."

The group cheered loudly. Levin, Lily and Vivian covered their ears to the noise.

Vincent spoke into the microphone. "Now that we reach dinner time, we should all decide on what we order for the party. Any suggestions?" Sienna raised her hand. "Sienna?"

"PIZZA!" Sienna pointed her finger at the hosts. Most of the group cheered except for Giselle.

"Pizza? Seriously?" she frowned.

"You don't have to eat the pizza, you can have my snacks." Lily smiled. "I got a salad!"

"I'll take that, thank you, Lily." Giselle smiled.

"Alright, so the majority want pizza? What pizzas do we order?"

"PEPPERONI!!" Phoebe threw her hands up in the air.

"Peri peri chicken!" Sam called out.

"Make sure to get vegetarian as well, for Lily." Levin pointed out.

"We can have garlic bread too!" Colin gasped.

"And cheesy crust!" Gilbert added.

"Hold on, what are we having?" Cleo laughed.

"Wait so, pepperoni, peri peri chicken, vegetarian all with cheesy crust? And garlic bread too?" Vincent asked to confirm.

"Yep, from what we gathered." Sabrina nodded.

"Alright. Vivian, please call that really good pizza place. The rest of you, enjoy the rest of your night!"

Then the room was filled with loud cheers.

-= ⭐⭐ =- (Zoe is sleeping on Bob's shoulder as the sunset sets)

Joel.

He stood before her, a smirk visible on his face. How she wished she could grab a napkin to wipe it off. But she can't. All she could do was snarl.

"Carol..." he looked down with a grin. "Nice seeing you here."

She turned her head away, nose stuck in the air. "And it isn't nice to see you here."

"Come on Carol, surely you can still forgive me?"

"No."

"But I miss you so much."

"Do you? Cause your actions say otherwise." Carol turned her head back, her ginger ponytail swishing as she moved.

"But I'll miss you so much. Especially since I heard that you are moving away." Joel recollected. Carol's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Where is it again? Oh yes. Zodiac Street."

"How did you know about me moving away?"

"Oh? Why are you surprised? Word goes around quickly in this little town. Your mother told my mother about it at their book club meeting." Her face blanched. "What's wrong, Carolina? I thought you knew this." He reached to her face.

She swatted the arm away. "Not telling you." She brushed past him to head to her table.

She heard Joel's footsteps after her. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

"But I just wanted to have a chat," he said when she hurried to her table. "Please."

"Carol, what's up?" Phoebe asked her friend when she arrived.

"We're ending the lunch now."

"Why?"

"Joel's here."

"Joel?" One of the friends, Aimee, turned to the direction where Carol used to go. She narrowed her eyes. "Ew. Carol, Sabrina, Phoebe, can you wait for us outside?"

"Right now?" Sabrina asked. "What are you planning to do?"

"Something awesome. Just wait outside."

Carol exchanged looks with her two closest friends. She personally wanted to see the awesome thing. But her friend warned them to wait outside. She sighed and nodded. "Come on Bri, Phoebs. Let's wait outside."

"Alright..." Sabrina answered as she and Phoebe followed Carol to the diner's exit.

The three ended up waiting at the small park near the diner with a fountain as the central point. The Wallowsberg Fountain of Hope. She remembered that fountain. Carol remembered the first time she arrived with her dad, her younger self on his shoulders as he made a wish for her. Since then, every month, she would make sure to make a wish at the fountain with her friends.

And now it's the last time she'll ever see it.

"Does anyone have a dollar? I want to make a collective wish for the three of us." Phoebe turned her head to Sabrina and Carol on the bench. "Just one would do."

"I think I have some loose change." Sabrina searched her pockets. She fished out a gold coin. "Here."

"Thanks!" Phoebe turned to the fountain. "What should we wish for?"

"Maybe a safe trip and a warm welcome?" Carol suggested.

"Oooh! Good idea! O' the lovely fountain of hope. Please hear our wish." Phoebe made a silent wish and then flipped the coin into the waters.

Plop.

"Made your wish Phoebs?" Sabrina asked.

"Yep." Phoebe turned to the sound of familiar voices, their footsteps quickening on the dirt footpath. "What's the rush?"

"Aimee just splashed her soda on Joel." one of the friends grinned from ear to ear. "You should have seen it! He was throwing a tantrum as well."

"I only did it to shut him up. He kept nagging that he has every right to see Carol." Aimee raised her nose in the air.

"So you threw your drink on him?" Sabrina's mouth dropped open.

"Mhm! Although me, the rest of us and Joel won't be allowed back there for a while. Not sure about you three. But let's say the owner is fuming, to say the least."

"I mean, yeah. You caused drama in his diner."

"No more banana split..." one of the friends dramatically sobbed.

Carol got up from her spot. "Well, that's one thing to wrap things up." Her friends went silent.

"Well, guess this is goodbye then." one of the friends said softly, his eyes glossed with tears.

"We can still text you know..."

"But that's not the same!"

"Guys..." Everyone turned to Phoebe who had her arms open for a hug. "Group hug it out?"

"Yes," Carol nodded, "Let's group hug it out."

Carol ended up squished in the middle of the embrace. None of the friends wanted to let go so they stayed in the hug until one of them felt a raindrop and announced everyone to leave.

She would certainly miss this place, its community and its weird weather. She won't miss Joel, she was relieved to leave him behind.

But for now, she had to focus on her future. She couldn't wait for what she would see at her new home at Zodiac Street.

-= ⭐⭐ =- (Bob drives his wife home)

Although the slideshows are finished, there is one more Slides Night chapter left. But I just want to know, which one is your personal favourite now that all 12 are done.

Also happy late Halloween again! I hope your Halloween went well! (Mine not so much. Everyone is focused on Christmas).

But either way, I want to sign off chapter to be honest about something that came up. Mainly on myself as a writer.

So lately I have been enjoying myself writing out the post-interval chapters. I enjoyed building on the characters and showing how much I grew over time. And although it is annoying to write on my phone, I had fun. However, despite that, there was one thing that lingered.

Self-doubt.

Self-doubt is a common thing to experience. And while I was working on post-interval, it kept coming over. And it's to the point that everything I heard on self-doubt has influenced the way I see things.

I know it would pass eventually but I just need to know the healthiest way to deal with it. One that does not result in me doubting my choices and abilities as a writer.

Either way, that's enough about me. I have to get started on the next chapter.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.