"Why are you guys disqualified?"

"Because chances are she's heading for the sanctuary of the ladies' room, and Principal Snyder will have a cow if he sees Oz or 'Xander' in there," Willow pointed out. "Just go, okay?"

Xander shook his head and headed for the doors. "You'd better be right about this, Will."

Buffy was heading for the library when she was very nearly run over by a tall, dark-haired, panicking cheerleader. Buffy used her slayer instincts to throw herself against the wall and out of Cordelia's path in the nick of time. < Well, I guess Giles hasn't found a way to switch 'em back yet. Somebody isn't taking the news well… > She pushed herself away from the wall and sighed. < I should probably make sure she's okay before I check in. >

She headed for the nearest restroom and pushed open the door cautiously. Cordelia wasn't in front of the mirror, which was where Buffy fully expected her to be. She turned her attention to the stalls, and noted the expensive platform shoes in one of them. "Cordelia?" she asked, softly knocking, "Are you okay?" There was no response. "It's okay, we're alone…"

The door opened abruptly.

"Why are you people trying to ruin my life?!" she demanded, brushing past Buffy to the mirror.

"Oh, yeah, Cordelia, this is all just an elaborate plan to deprive you of Xander smoochies," Buffy agreed amicably, hoisting herself onto one of the nearby sinks to look at Cordy as she spoke. "Look, we don't know how it happened, and Giles is working on a way to put everybody back where they belong, but I really think that Xander and Willow are getting the worst of this."

"You don't understand! You weren't there. It was --- HORRIBLE."

Buffy looked at Cordelia quizzically, about to ask a question when she heard a sigh from the doorway. Xander stood there as Willow, the door swinging quietly closed behind him. "She kissed Willow," he informed Buffy.

"What? Like, on the lips?" Buffy asked. She watched as Cordelia blushed and turned slightly away from her. Buffy tried to hold the laughter that immediately rose from her throat, but was only partially successful. As the giggles escaped her lips one after the other, she finally let the dam loose and laughed hysterically. The tears began forming in her eyes as she held her sides, seeking comfort from the relentless tide of giggles. Cordy gave her a look of distinct displeasure, setting off another laugh.

"Can we be alone for a minute?" Xander asked Buffy, helping her off her perch on the sink. "I don't think that's helping!" he whispered in her ear as he grasped her arm.

He escorted Buffy to the door and held it open for her. But she wasn't done yet. She had one more jibe up her sleeve. "Cordy?" she asked sweetly, suppressing the giggles for the moment. "Remember how I said Willow and Xander were getting the worst of this deal?"

Cordelia turned to her impatiently. "Yes?"

"I was SOOOOO right! Especially for Willow!" Buffy exploded into more laughter and charged into the hall before Cordy could decide to hurt her.

Xander shot Buffy's retreating back a murderous glare before firmly closing the door again. "She didn't mean that," he said.

"Yes she did," Cordelia answered, turning from the mirror to look at Willow. "She hates me. They all do." She sighed and began rummaging through her purse. Finding her lipstick, she applied a fresh coat to her lips.

Xander watched as her lower lip trembled slightly beneath the lipstick. < She's really upset. > "They don't hate you," Xander objected, swinging her so she faced him. "It's just that sometimes you come off as a little…" He searched for a word that wouldn't offend her. "Intense?"

"Right, okay, whatever." She spun away from him. "Look, Xander, this temporary switching thing is pretty freaky, and I don't think I can be blamed for what happened back there."

"Absolutely not," he agreed.

"But they're all going to make fun of me and bug me about this forever, and I can't take that!" She made a small whimpering noise and gestured wildly with her hands towards the door. "It is one thing to be ridiculed by everyone who counts for dating you, but it is another thing altogether to be ridiculed by LOSERS!"

Xander sighed and lightly touched her shoulder. "It'll blow over in two days. At most. Really."

"That's not the point! The point is that no matter how many times I pitch in and help, they think I'm just some witchy airhead tagging along. The point is that they hate accepting my help and they resent me because I'm popular. I respect them. I like them! I just want them to like me!" Cordelia's eyes widened in horror as she heard herself say the last sentence aloud. She blushed and looked anywhere but at Xander. "I mean, they never let me help with things I'm good at. Like makeovers or clothes. It's always just 'Cordelia, pick up the pieces of the Judge and stay out of our lives'."

Xander cautiously approached her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.. "They'll warm up to you. I like you," he offered.

Cordelia pushed him away. "Don't touch me while you're like that. Someone could've walked in, and -"

"Yeah, I get the scenario," Xander interrupted, backing away from her. "Well, if you want to help and sorta prove yourself to them, we could go back and resear-"

"Oh! Oh! Ohhh!" Cordelia squealed. "I have a better idea! Come on!" She grabbed the bewildered Xander by the arm and pulled him along after her as she ran for the parking lot.

After two stops to collect herself, Buffy finally made it to the library. One look at Willow in Xander's body set her off again. She leaned against the circulation counter and made a valiant effort to stop laughing.

"I see you've heard about the ….incident," Willow remarked, eyebrow raised at Buffy's inability to contain herself.

Buffy nodded. "I'm sorry Will. It's just - I keep picturing what the look on Cordelia's face must've been like when you told her. I wish someone'd had a camera."

"She was… less than impressed," Oz supplied.

Buffy took deep breaths and relied on her training as a slayer to regain her equilibrium. Moments later, she was as composed as she could be. "I can imagine," Buffy agreed, smiling widely as she plunked down beside Willow at the computer terminal. "So, what've we got so far?"

"A big fat nothing," Willow answered. "I'm going to have to attend Xander's classes this afternoon, and hope Giles has something after school."

"Well, it might still wear off, right?"

Willow sat up straighter. She hadn't even considered that. "Giles!" She stood up and began moving to his office. "Giles!"

"Yes?" He asked, coming out of his office without looking up from the book he was reading.

"Could this thing wear off in a day or something?"

Giles raised his eyes to hers and paused. He thought about her question for a few moments before shrugging. "I have no idea. We don't know why it happened, so anything is possible, I guess."

Willow eagerly moved back to the computer and typed in a few sentences.

"What are you doing?" Oz asked.

"I've sent messages to the posting board Ms. Calendar used to use for magic, and now I'm e-mailing her technopagan batch list. If this is a spell, someone here should be able to tell us a little about it. How long it'll last, how to reverse it, that sorta stuff."

"Cool," Buffy said. "And now what?"

"Now we wait," Willow replied, leaning back in her chair. However, in her new, bulkier frame she miscalculated, and let out a cry as the chair toppled over backwards. Buffy was immediately at her side, offering assistance. Willow sighed from her vantage point on the floor. It was probably safer to just stay down there. "Just hand me the ice pack," she demanded, hand sticking out over the desk. Oz handed it to her while he tried to hide his amusement from his currently-not-so-girl-girlfriend.

"Why do you guys have an ice pack out?" Buffy asked.

Oz groaned. < She's gonna kill me when she finds out I accidentally decked Willow… > "Funny you should ask that," he began, backing away from Buffy and mentally formulating an escape route for the inevitable swing she was going to take at him. "You see, Buffy…"