a/n: Ashton's not gonna be in this fic for a while but he'll come soon :) btw I imagined Calum + his band to be English and not Australian. Thought I'd clear that up!
Luke.
Along with Karen's help, I was able to get management to believe my situation. Who knew they'd be so hard to sway? I mean, I guess this whole thing is super far-fetched, but...
Currently, I was back in the hotel room, sitting on the bed alone - Karen was downstairs, and I hadn't seen Michael or Katie all morning. I was curled up under the sheets, simply wanting time to clear my mind, and so I called my Mum. I quickly found out she had some interesting things to tell me.
"So, what you're telling me is that you knew all along something like this was going to happen, but didn't even bother to warn me?!"
"Luke, you're not listening to me," she sighed, clearly exasperated. "I couldn't predict exactly when it was going to happen, or how, or with who. I didn't even know it was going to happen to you. It didn't happen to Ben, I couldn't assume it was going to happen to you."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "So it happened to Jack too! And the bastard didn't tell me!"
"Language, Lucas!" she huffed. I heard some shuffling in the background, and she began to speak again, her voice low this time. "How are you doing?"
"I'm- I'm doing okay," I answered honestly, absently playing with a loose thread on the white bedsheet. "It's weird, who'd think I'd trade places with Calum Hood himself? It's like... It's a little surreal, Mum. I don't know what to think."
She let out a hum in response. "This has been happening for many generations, but never has it been with someone famous... Not this famous, anyways. Singers in the local bars and things like that... Oh god, Luke, what have you gotten yourself into?"
"I'm sorry," I pouted, but she just chuckled.
"Anyways. Calum is trying to spend as little time possible in your room... I think all the posters of himself is getting to him. Jenna is taking him around the town instead."
I smiled a little at that. I had been wanting to meet Calum for so long, and now I was actually going to be interacting with him as more than just a fan... "I don't really blame him."
"Jenna and him have hit it off quite well."
And then, all my happiness went down the drain. Of course he would hit it off with Jenna. I was just some weird fan stuck in his body. Plus, Jenna was gorgeous. No surprise there. "Oh."
I could tell my Mum was rolling her eyes when she said, "Luke, he's got a girlfriend anyways, remember?"
"Yeah," I muttered, but before I could get another word in, the hotel room door flung open and in came Michael, bouncing around like a kangaroo on steroids. Katie followed behind, filming the whole thing and trying not to laugh.
"So!" Michael announced, stepping onto the bed, standing proud with his hands on his hips as he looked down at me. "We heard all about your problem."
"My problem?" I squeaked, and Michael laughed, turning back to the camera.
"Calum here is miserably sick. Look at him!" Katie pointed the phone to me as Michael kept talking. "So, unfortunately guys, we're going to have to reschedule the last part of our US tour. That means our second New York show, and then... Uh... Okay, I don't know your states, but whichever ones were next! We're really sorry."
"We'll be back soon though!" Katie grinned, switching the camera so it could face her. "As soon as Calum is back in shape, we'll be hitting the roads here in the US again. Thank you all for your support, and once again, see you soon!"
She tapped the screen, looking up at Michael before shaking her head. "Get off the bed, you've still got your boots on!"
"Oh, sorry," Michael apologised sheepishly, getting off the bed and sitting down on it instead. He readjusted the black snapback covering his lilac hair before looking over at me. "So, Karen told us everything."
"Oh." I didn't know how to respond to that.
"It's cool, bro, don't freak out." Michael shrugged. "Like, we're not gonna- I mean-"
"It's a weird situation," Katie sighed, sitting cross legged on the bed, at my feet. I sat up a little, leaning against the headrest, as she kept talking. "I mean... You're Calum, but you're not."
"So you're Luke?" Michael asked, and I nodded. "Cool. I'm Michael, and this is Katie. We're in Calum's band."
"I- Uh- I know," I murmured, feeling embarrassed. I looked down at the bedsheets again. "I like your band."
"You do?" Katie asked, and her voice was nothing other than happy. "That's so great!"
"This must be quite an experience, hunh?" Michael joked, and I looked up at them with a shy smile. "Dude, don't even worry about it. We're not gonna think you're weird because you're a fan. It's not like you chose for this to happen."
"Oh I definitely didn't." I shook my head. "This is really weird. I would rather have met you guys in my normal body, but... Yeah."
"Anyways, um..." Katie began, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked up, trying to recall something. "Right! We're going to be catching a flight to Australia in about five hours. There are going to be fans outside. You don't have to talk to them if you don't want to..."
"I just don't wanna slip up," I answered, biting at my lip and temporarily searching for my lip ring before realising that I didn't have it anymore since, well, I was in Calum Hood's body.
"You just need to act sick," Michael answered. "There's not much of you in the video, but that's what we're telling people. That you're sick - or rather, that Calum's sick - and that's why we can't continue the tour."
"I can try," I answered, before making my voice low and pretending to cough. "Hey guys, I'm-" I interrupted my sentence with a fake cough. "I'm so sorry we can't tour but we love you!"
"That's great!" Katie grinned, clamping her hands together. "Oh, and Karen's not going to join us because she's flying back home for a shooting or something."
"Oh, alright," I nodded. I was totally fine with that. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry you guys have to cancel the tour."
"It's two weeks, it's not like it's the whole thing." Michael shrugged, giving me a friendly smile. "It's okay, man. Seriously."
I smiled back at the two of them, and honestly, it felt... Normal. It didn't feel like I was interacting with two people in a band I had admired for years. It felt like I was making new friends, and I loved it.
✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿
Calum.
"There's literally nothing here."
Jenna rolled her eyes at me, huffing. "I'm sorry this is not New York City. Not everyone has the privilege to see all the big cities in the world, you know."
"I'm not saying that," I frowned, crossing my arms. I was sitting on a park bench, my mile long legs stretched out in front of me. Well, they weren't mine, but it was weird to think of it any other way. "I'm just saying, there's nothing to do in this town. Don't you guys like... I don't know, don't you two have friends or something to hang out with on days like these?"
"It's 7 in the evening, Calum. No one's gonna want to hang out now," she sighed, taking a seat next to me. "Stop making a big deal over nothing, and slow down a little. If you look over the boring towns, the big cities won't be as special as they're supposed to be."
I huffed, not in the mood to be lectured by a seventeen year old. "Okay, yeah. That doesn't change the fact that I'm stuck here for god knows how long, in a town where there's nothing to do and no one to see."
"You're seeing your band tomorrow. Hell, they're already in the plane."
I groaned, leaning my head back. "Great. And what happens if I don't switch back with Luke?"
"Do you have any time constraints?"
"Not really, but I don't want to be stuck in this weird, lanky body longer than I have to. You have no idea what it's like to be in a body that's not your own..." I sighed. "It's the weirdest feeling in the world. It's like... It's like there's this itch, under your skin... You know the type you can never quite find the source of? Yeah, it's like that, all over my body. My only consolation at this point is that I'm still a dude, because if I was a girl I would've been absolutely panicking." I sighed, closing my eyes. "It's not a pleasant feeling."
We were silent for a minute as I mulled over the things that had happened today. I sighed a little. "I'm sorry for being cranky. I'm not comfortable. I'm- I don't- It's not that I'm trying to be an ass, but I'm just tired and frustrated and literally not myself."
"It's fine, I guess. I don't know how you're feeling. I can't judge," she murmured.
I just shrugged. "Not your fault."
"It's not yours, either, you know that, right?"
I didn't answer her. Instead, I just shrugged, letting myself get lost in my thoughts.
a/n: ok I just heard the entirety of Permanent Vacation for the first time and I loVE IT I HAVE SO SO SO MUCH HOPE FOR THE NEW ALBUM. Also they're touring with State Champs and I couldn't be prouder of their decisions bc Hey Violet was such a mistake but haskvgsdb :)))