(WARNING: homophobic slurs & slight violence)
~ CONNOR ~
He laid down on Brad's bed to sleep. He had quite a tiring day today, but the good news was that the next day was a Saturday, which meant that he was free and that he could sleep all day if he wanted to.
Unfortunately, for him, he couldn't sleep. He was happy that his wish was granted by no other than his best friend, but he didn't like the pain that Brad had to go through because of that. Brad had a good life, for all he knew, and to take everything away from him is not something that Connor wished for.
Without hesitating, he grabbed Brad's phone which was resting on top of the nightstand. He opened it then he immediately dialled his own number. He didn't know why, but he had the hope that Brad would pick up so that they could talk.
"Hello?" He heard a familiar sound from the other line.
It wasn't his normal voice, it was his crying voice. He knew it too well that he can't be wrong.
~ BRAD ~
...earlier that afternoon...
Once he closed the front door, Brad can't help but let his tears flow. He wasn't angry at all, he was just really sad. He didn't know what he did to deserve this. Before he knew it, Connor's father grabbed him by his collar and started screaming at him.
"YOU FUCKING PRICK!" He screamed in front of his own son. "You ruined my life, you faggot." He said, his words slurred. Brad could smell the alcohol coming from Connor's dad's mouth.
"But I didn't--"
"Shut your piehole, asswipe!" His grip on Brad's collar grew stronger as he lifted him up higher against the front door.
"They kept making fun of me, including my bitch of an ex-girlfriend. I promised her that I would have a better life than her, but then you told her that you were gay." He kept rambling, then he finally let go of his collar and put him down on the ground.
Just when Brad thought that he was finally free, Connor's dad slapped him in the face. Hard, he might add. Brad placed his hand on his cheek to ease the pain, then Connor's dad punched him on the stomach. He grabbed his stomach in pain, then he crouched on the floor.
"You've had enough?" Connor's dad screamed at his ear. Brad had no choice but to whimper in reply. Just when Connor's dad was going to give him another punch, Connor's mum came in the house and stopped Connor's dad from hitting him again.
"Simon, that's enough!" Connor's mum told him as she restrained him.
"Kelly, our son is a disgrace. He deserves what I'm doing to him. Can't you see it?!" He shouted at his own wife while Brad tried to stand up.
"Look, we both know that he's gay so why can't we just accept the fact that he is and get over it?"
"You want me to get over this huge and terrible mistake that we made?"
"Hey! Connor's a good person. He knows his values and he doesn't need to fit your standards just to be perfect. Why can't you see--"
To Brad's horror, Connor's mum also got slapped. Connor's dad also seemed to be surprised by what he has done, and he left the scene. Connor's mum held her cheek in pain.
Brad, even though he wasn't related to her at all, felt sorry for Connor's mum. She just defended her son, and she got hurt in the process. He knew that even Connor would feel really bad and guilty.
"Mum, you didn't have to defend me." Brad told her. She just looked at him in confusion.
"But he was hurting you, my son. What makes you think that you deserve that kind of pain?" She asked, then she went away as quick as possible, failing her attempts to keep her tears in her eyes. Brad decided to go up to Connor's room and think about his life.
He was sad because he missed his old life. He wasn't mad at Connor, Kath or anyone else, he just wanted to get this over with and go home. He didn't mind the pain he felt on his cheek, the pain that Connor was supposed to feel, even though he didn't deserve it.
And with that realisation, he burst into tears.
~ CONNOR ~
"Are you alright, Brad?" He asked once he heard his own crying voice. Connor never saw or heard Brad cry. He always thought of him as a strong person.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Brad replied, although Connor didn't believe him for a second.
"Brad, I know how my voice sounds like when I'm crying."
"Okay, fine, I'm not happy, is that what you wanted to hear?" Brad finally admitted through the phone. "I hate it. I hate this so much. I know I can't but I just want to go home, I can't take this anymore."
Connor stayed silent and listened to Brad weep. When it slowly died down, Connor spoke up.
"I'm sorry for creating this problem in the first place. I'll do everything I can just to reverse things, okay?"
"Connor, it's not that...it's..." Brad still can't get it out.
"My dad hit you, didn't he?"
"How did you know?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm really sorry. I'll do anything I can to solve this mess, okay?"
"Con, this mess is impossible to fix. Kath said so."
"No, she's the one who did this to us, she can surely undo it, too."
"She can't do anything unless we're back in our own bodies, Con."
"Then we'll make her do something. Maybe she has books that will tell her what to do."
"Con, I don't know, okay? I just - I don't know. I just want this to be over, even though it's impossible, okay?" Brad said, then he ended the call. Connor can't help but feel worried sick about him. He looked outside the window, thinking of ways on how to solve the problem.
---
By the time he woke up, Brad's parents have left the house. He had the house all to himself. His breakfast was already prepared and served - all he had to do was eat it and wash the dishes after.
When he was done, he took Brad's skateboard all the way to Kath's house. His hopes were high that she could help them.
He knocked on his front door, only to be faced by her dad. He knew Kath's dad was really strict with her daughter about dating, and that he's worried that Kath's dad would think of Brad as her suitor, or worse, her boyfriend.
"Good morning, Mr. Thompson. I was wondering if I could talk to Kath?"
"Who are you?" He said strictly. If he knew that he was actually Connor, he wouldn't be so cross with him. In fact, he'd be welcome from the moment he opened the door.
"I'm Brad, Kath's dance partner." Connor knew that Kath was part of the school's dance team, and that maybe that lie will let him in her house.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to ask her what time would she like to practise for our intermission number in school." He blurted out, then he saw Kath behind her father.
"Brad?" She asked. Connor smiled at her.
"Hey Kath." He replied.
"Dad, why don't you give us some privacy?" Kath said as she went towards the front door. Her dad made way for her to come out, then she closed the door.
"Just in case my dad decides to eavesdrop like Brad..." She said, then she clicked her fingers. He immediately knew that it was for her dad not to hear them.
"Connor, what are you doing here?" She asked him.
"I want a solution to this problem. I wished for this in the first place and it's all my fault that Brad's miserable. Please, help me."
"Connor, I'd love to, but I don't know how I can help you unless you're back in your own body."
"Please, Kath, I'll do anything. I don't want Brad to live my life anymore. I don't want to live his perfect life for him anymore."
"There could be one solution..." She started, then Connor looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Alright, I'll do it, but promise me that he'll cooperate, okay?"
"Okay." He said. She told him her plan, then he went to his house.
He knocked on the door. As expected, Brad opened the door. Unexpectedly, he started to shut it. Before he was able to fully close it, though, Connor blocked the door's path with his foot.
"I know you're mad, Brad, but please, listen to me." He started, then Brad hesitated before opening the door again.
"Kath has a plan." He said, then Brad closed the door behind him.
"Connor, I'm sick of people lying. Stop messing with me, especially not in this situation!" Brad almost yelled at him, but then he immediately grew calm. "Just, stop messing with me, okay?"
"Kath's looking for a book that will lead her to the answer of reversing this." Connor blurted out, which made him earn Brad's attention. "I mean, you have witnessed her do magic, right? She shut you up yesterday."
"Yeah. I suddenly couldn't speak yesterday."
"Okay. Now, while she's doing that, you and I have to learn how to be each other."
"Wait a second, what do you mean by 'you and I?' Like, I learn how to be like you, and you learn how to be like me?"
"Yes, so that no one will notice anything different with us. Once Kath's been able to find the answer, she'll turn us back to our normal selves, and this will all be over."
There was a deafening silence between them while Brad processed everything he said.
"Are you in?" Connor asked him.
"Fine." Brad said, then they shook on it. "So, when do we start?" Brad asked him.
"Anytime you're ready."
"Like, right now?"
"Sure!" Connor said with a beaming smile, then Brad went back inside the house. 5 minutes later, he was in front of Connor again, up and ready to go.
"Shall we?" Brad said, then Connor nodded his head. Connor grabbed Brad's skateboard then they walked all the way to Brad's house. They used the long distance to talk about themselves.
Connor started to know more about Brad - from the names of his aunts and uncles to his favourite TV show back when he was a little boy. Brad also got to know more about Connor as well, from Connor's favourite band to his favourite thing back in his hometown where he was born. The walk was a useful hour, and they silently thanked the gods for not letting it rain.
When they got back to Brad's house, they taught each other the instruments that they knew how to play. They even taught each other their parts in the song that they made. When they were done, they ordered pizza for lunch, then they continued teaching each other more stuff.
The next day, by the time it was 7 PM, they already knew enough about each other that no-one, except those who knew, of course, could tell that they weren't being themselves. Connor took Brad home, using the time to his advantage to practise.
"Thanks for the lift home." Brad told him once he pulled over.
"Thanks for teaching me how." Connor replied, then they both laughed.
"Believe it or not, I actually had fun today." Brad told him once he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"Me too." Connor said with a smile.
"So, I guess this is it."
"Yeah, I think so."
"We should probably update each other from time to time. You know; to keep up with ourselves once everything's back to normal."
"Yeah, I would like that."
Brad went out of the car and waved Connor goodbye. Connor also waved him goodbye before driving off.
Once he got to Brad's house, he noticed that he didn't get any texts from Tristan during the whole weekend. He dialled Tristan's number to call him, but Tristan ended it immediately.
🌟🌟🌟
Hope y'all are doing quite well despite the negativity around the world 😊 Thanks for reading!
~ Kat and Dani :)
P.S. THE BOYS ARE HERE AND WE LOST ALL OF OUR CHILL HELP US OUT xxx also, double update! (because we're that hyper teehee)
Published: 10/11/16
Updated: 21/02/17