Swapped For Love

Chapter 1.1

"I need to pee,'' I muttered.

I left the room and tiptoed to the hallway, trying not to make any sounds. The bathroom was the third door to the left, at the end of the hallway. I walked in and closed the door behind me as a quietly as possible. Feeling a little sick, I opened the lid like a raging madman, crouching onto the floor as everything felt puke-inducing.

Reflexively, I raised my hands to cover my mouth, only to realize they weren't as big or as rough as they were supposed to be. They were soft and feminine. I had nails lightly coated in pink. I'd never used nail polish. Never in a million years. Why was there nail polish on my nails?

Once the nausea passed, I gritted my teeth while standing up and caught my reflection in the mirror. I did a double take. Covering my mouth with my hand to prevent screaming, my eyes widened as if they were going to pop out of their sockets.

No, no, no.

The long black hair tied in a bun, the puffy red eyes, and the dark shadows underneath them. Joy, all of it was Joy. There was nobody else in the bathroom, and yet the image mimicked my movements perfectly. The way I clenched my jaw, the way my pupils widened, the way my lip jutted into a natural pout.

It's just a dream, Vincent. It must be a dream.

I pinched my arm, and winced in pain before glancing at the mirror once more. I hoped to see my own face staring back at me, but to my disappointment, I saw my worst nightmare.

Freaking Joy.

It had to be a cruel joke. It must be.

I tried reassuring myself, but to no avail.

I winced as my heart raced, my palms began to sweat and numerous theories sprung to my mind. Could my body have changed form? What if I had been reborn?

Into your ex's body? Please.

What if I had died in my sleep and was damned to hell? Because at this moment, staring at her face in the mirror, looking down at her body and surrounded by her scent— was hell.

I hit the mirror and sink with my fist, once, twice and glared at her reflection. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. Everything was hers. Even my own voice had disappeared. I tried to speak but choked and stared at my hands, blood oozing from the fresh cuts.

What has she done to me? Was she trying to ruin my life?

I have lunch with my family today—the first proper family lunch in what felt like years. My parents were coming home from their long business trip in Tokyo. My brother and I no longer had to hold down the fort alone. I had been waiting for this day for months and now, everything was ruined.

What am I going to do?

I was Joyceleen, ex-girlfriend. That in itself was whack. Crazy. Bat-shit insane! This only happened in movies like Freaky Friday. The body-swapping Supernatural episode. This wasn't supposed to happen in real life.

How the hell was I supposed to fix this?

I ran back to her bedroom. I was beyond furious and beyond pissed. With every step I took, the fury only intensified. Walking felt weird, sitting felt weird, everything felt weird. The universe was really messing with me.

Storming into the room, I picked up Joy's ugly old phone, punching in her password. I dialed my number angrily. My mind was buzzing with questions as I paced around the room, waiting for the phone to be answered. Where was I? The real me, I meant? If I was here being Joy, then my real body had to be somewhere.