The Switch [COMPLETED]

Chapter 25

Asher Halen:

I sat in a comfortable plush armchair in the corner of an unfamiliar hotel room, nervously biting my nails as I watched the band coach Paisley through a mock interview. She looked determined and much more stable than she had during the live TV interview, but I wondered how long she would hold up when faced with the real deal again. Plus, we hadn't even STARTED on actual band rehearsals...

As soon as Paisley and I had returned from her parent's house the other day, the bus had immediately rolled out and set off towards our next destination on the tour: California. The past few days for Paisley had been filled with nothing but Asher Halen trivia, media coaching, and lessons on "how to be cool," which Tucker insisted he teach. 

Now, though, our first actual concert in California was fast approaching, and I was starting to get really nervous. Paisley hadn't so much as touched a microphone, and I was pretty sure she still only knew the words to one of our songs. Plus, I had heard her singing in the shower the other day and, while her voice was (obviously) great given her current control over my own personal vocal chords, she had absolutely no rhythm. 

On top of everything else, we had made little to no progress in tracking down the mystery man from the commercial. As soon as we had gotten back to the bus, we had told the boys our hypothesis. The rest of the day had been spent scouring through Google articles, YouTube videos, and even social media to try to find him. Nothing. It was like he was a ghost. 

Three days later and I was starting to wonder if I had been imagining the whole thing...

But then I would wake up once again in a strange girl's body and be reminded that what was happening was all too real. 

I was broken out of my distracted musings by Tucker's exasperated exclamation.

"NO! I told you to stop crossing your legs like that! You gotta recline...like this." He struck a casual slouch against the back of the couch he was currently sitting on. "See? Cool."

Paisley rolled her eyes and uncrossed her legs with a frustrated huff.

"I don't see what's so 'cool' about osteoporosis," she grumbled, although she leaned back and slouched slightly to appease Tucker anyways. 

He smirked in satisfaction and went back to playing whatever game was currently holding his attention on his phone. Every once in a while, the squawking of a bird could be heard followed by a cartoonish "pop."

Leo looked at Paisley with apprehension clearly written in his features. 

"Paisley, how are you feeling about all of this so far?"

I looked up curiously at his question, waiting to see how Paisley would respond. 

She sighed and shrugged slightly, slouching even further down into the couch as if she was trying to hide from the world. 

"Okay, I guess," she said, smiling softly, "you know, considering the circumstances. I think I'm just worried about screwing up your concert..." she said, looking down into her lap and self-consciously picking at her fingernails. 

"And that's where I come in," I said, finally standing up from my chair and walking over to Paisley. "Come on," I ordered, offering my hand. 

She took it and let me pull her up off of the couch, looking at me curiously the whole time. 

"Where are we going?" she asked as I began to drag her out of the room. 

"The roof," I stated, earning a skeptical frown from Paisley. 

"We need to practice your vocals," I explained, closing the door to the hotel room tightly behind us and leading Paisley down the long, plush hallway towards the elevators, "and I do NOT want to risk any hotel guests hearing your...um...interesting vocal techniques."