The Switch [COMPLETED]

Chapter 18

Paisley Monroe:

Thirty minutes later, I was sweating profusely on a comfortable plush couch with Leo on one side of me and Tucker on the other, a wide, fake grin plastered onto my face as I stared into the lens of an enormous camera manned by an unnamed man wearing headphones.

After my little cram session with Asher, I had had the pleasure of meeting Ellie, who was truly one of the coolest people I had ever met. I had left the green room with a perfectly tamed head of hair and a newfound girl-crush on the boys' stylist. I vowed that once I was back in my own body, I was going to experiment with pastel hair dye like Ellie.

Now, however, all of Ellie's hard work was sure to fall apart as the perspiration pouring from every orifice in my body threatened to dissolve every ounce of hair gel on my head. I tried not to move my arms too much, as I was sure that there were unflattering stains under the armpits of my printed button-down shirt. As soon as I had seen the little red light on set indicating that we were now "live," every piece of Asher trivia I had just learned seemed to fly straight out of my head like birds scattering from a gunshot.

I was utterly petrified.

Thankfully, no one else on stage with me seemed to notice. The interviewer, a pretty young woman named Tiffany with red hair and a blinding smile, was in the middle of introducing us to the camera while the other three band members smiled and relaxed nonchalantly in their seats. I was sure I was the only one who felt like they were about to be sick or pass out...or maybe both.

I was vaguely aware of the real Asher standing off to the side of the stage, trying desperately to make eye contact with me. His bright pink and orange floral skirt and cardigan combo was jarringly bright against the black clothing of the stage hands, who were all shooting him furtive glances every once in a while. I had coerced them into letting him hover just off-set, and I wasn't sure if his presence was making me feel calmer, or more nervous.

I smiled and laughed along robotically as Tiffany asked the group some general questions about the tour, the album, and the music. Thankfully, all I had to do was look interested and nod in agreement as the other three did all of the heavy lifting, answering Tiffany's questions with the comfort and ease of true seasoned professionals.

The interview seemed to be winding to a close when Tiffany suddenly set her gaze on me, her piercing blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Now, Asher," she began, and my heart started thumping uncomfortably in my chest. No way out of this one. "You've got the reputation of being quite the ladies' man."

A few people in the live audience whooped and whistled, and I told myself furiously not to blush. I took a deep breath and tried to remember what Asher had told me in the hallway: act natural, speak slowly, and smile like you know a secret. That last bit of advice was one of Asher's own creation. He said that it made him appear mysterious and whimsical. Apparently, "the ladies loved it."

I tried to emulate the secretive smile that he spoke of, but I felt like I probably just looked constipated.

"Do I?" I asked, cocking my head to the side and smirking in a way that I hoped looked cheeky.

"Oh, come on, don't be coy!" Tiffany said, leaning forward and slapping my arm lightly, her eyes sparkling brightly. "Give us some of the juicy details! Are you seeing anyone right now?"

She was looking at me in a way that was making me squirm, and I suddenly realized with a jolt that she was FLIRTING with me. Oh, my gosh, this was SO weird. I was so caught off guard that Asher's carefully scripted answer for such a question completely slipped my mind, and I was left to blab the first thing that popped into my head.

"I...am not currently at liberty to disclose that information," I said in a flat voice, sounding terribly like a lawyer from one of Ashley's case studies. It was probably the least "rockstar" answer in the world.

I heard and audible "smack" from backstage, and turned my head slightly to see Asher with his hand on his forehead, shaking his head back and forth and looking at the ground.

Thankfully, Tiffany didn't seem to be too phased, although I WAS receiving some strange looks from the band.

"Well, then, I'm just going to take that as a 'maybe,'" Tiffany said, winking at me before turning back to the cameras.

"Now, what you've all REALLY come here for," she said, smiling into the lens. "Here's Ten Minutes to Midnight with the latest single off of their album, 'Fever:' 'Wanting You!'"

I seemed to be glued to my seat. My heart was thumping so loudly that I couldn't even hear the applause from the audience, and my vision was starting to go a little fizzy around the edges. I was finally hauled out of my trance by a large hand wrapping around my bicep and pulling me to my feet. I looked up to see Leo smiling encouragingly at me even through the suspicious confusion still present on his face.

I nodded at him and returned what I hoped was a confident smile before striding over to the small platform that our equipment had been set up on. I heard Tucker tapping his drumsticks together and counting down the opening to the song before I was suddenly surrounded by blaring instrumentals. I had never realized how loud drums sounded when you were literally standing two feet away from them.

I shakily gripped the microphone stand and looked around wildly at the audience, all of whom were on their feet clapping and dancing, waiting for me to start singing. Only, they didn't want to hear ME sing. They wanted to hear ASHER sing. I didn't know how to sing. I had all of the rhythm and beat-keeping capabilities of a feral cat rolling down a hill in a barrel.

I turned my head to the side and made eye contact with Asher standing just offstage. He was staring at me expectantly, his eyes wide as he lifted his eyebrows and waved his hands in a "go on" motion.

My breathing was coming in shallow gasps as I turned my attention away from him and directed it back at the crowd. I was hyper-aware that the opening of the song had almost reached its crescendo and it was time for me to start singing.

Only...what were the words again? What was I even doing here? Why was it so hot in here? And where WAS "here?" Man, I sure was sweating a lot. And my head! My head felt so weird...I had to remember what Asher told me. I had to do this. I had to...I had to what? What did Asher tell me?

Sweat was pouring into my eyes and my shortness of breath was making my knees weak and my head heavy. Suddenly, in a moment of sheer and utter panic, I blurted the only thing that came to my mind: my recently acquired Asher Halen trivia.

I gripped the microphone tightly with both hands and brought it right up to my mouth, my eyes wide and frantic as I spoke everything in one breath.

"I'm Asher Halen and I was born in Ohio and I like the color blue and I'm allergic to bananas - but only a little bit - like I won't die but they make my throat itchy - and I'm 21 years old and pigeons freak me out but I like parrots and I'M NOT IN A RELATIONSHIP! NOPE! NO WAY! NOT ME! NOT ASHER HALEN!"

I nearly screamed the last part, and I was aware of the instrumentals behind me coming to a screeching halt before the spots in my eyes suddenly overtook my vision, and the ground was rushing up to meet me...

-

A/N: Hey-lo, lovelies!

So...that did not go well LOL. I wonder what Asher's going to have to say to Paisley once she finally regains consciousness! :)

Xo, Adrienna