The Switch [COMPLETED]

Chapter 26

Asher Halen:

Miraculously, we were able to pull of the first California show without too many issues. At one point, Paisley forgot the words to one of the choruses, but I was overwhelmed with pride when, instead of panicking, she instead held the microphone out to the crowd and instructed them to sing the chorus for her. She was definitely still shy, and it was clear that the "Asher" on stage was slightly "off" from the usual Asher. If any of the fans noticed, however, they didn't say anything. A few of the gossip mags even chalked it up to the flu, and I got thousands of "get well soon" messages in my social media inboxes. 

Things were surprisingly going very well. 

The two of us were sitting on my bunk in the tour bus reviewing lyrics while the rest of the boys were up front in the living area playing video games. We had gone over every single song on the album and Paisley had gotten all of the lyrics right for the first time since we had started rehearsing. On the very last song, though, she tripped up a bit on the bridge. 

"No, those aren't the words. Come on, you know this!" I coached, elbowing Paisley playfully in the ribs and motioning for her to start again. 

"Ugh, Asher I'm BORED. Can't we do something else for a while?" Paisley whined, leaning back against the wall and throwing her arm over her face. 

I studied her for a second, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and the tense set of her shoulders. I may have been used to the constantly changing sleep schedules and late nights that went along with touring, but Paisley wasn't. She looked exhausted, and I felt a rare burst of empathy. 

"Fine," I sighed, giving in. "What do you want to do?"

Paisley lifted her arm off of her face and looked at me with raised eyebrows. 

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah, really," I said with a small smile. "You're right - we've been doing this for a long time now and you're doing pretty well. We can take a break."

Paisley immediately brightened, sitting up straight in the bunk and leaning forward excitedly with her elbows on her knees. 

"Okay! Let's...hmm...let's play 20 questions!" she said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together like an excited child. 

"For the millionth time, stop clapping like that in my body," I mumbled while rolling my eyes. "It's so freaking girly. And why would you want to play 20 questions? Don't you already know everything about me?"

Paisley pouted at my attitude and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"I know plenty about Asher Halen the rockstar, but I don't think I know a single thing about Asher Halen the human boy...other than the fact that he's an enormous pain in the butt...and possibly not even human at all." She grinned widely at her own stupid joke and ignored me when I rolled my eyes once again. 

"Fine," I said with another sigh. I grabbed a pillow and shoved it behind my head before leaning back in the bunk, reclining so that I was staring at the hard wooden paneling of Leo's bunk above my head. "Shoot. What do you wanna know?"

Paisley was quiet for a few seconds, and I looked over to see her making an exaggerated thinking face, staring off into space with her lips pursed. 

"Um...if you weren't a musician, what would you be?" she finally asked in a cheery tune that indicated that she was pleased with her question.

I thought for a moment. I had been asked the same question before in a few interviews, but I still didn't really have an answer. Music is all I had ever wanted to do. 

"I don't really know," I answered truthfully. "Next question."

Paisley scoffed next to me, and I glanced over again to see her looking indignant. 

"That's not how this game works," she scolded. "You're supposed to ask ME a question next. Plus, that was such a weak answer. You can do better."

I was about to protest, but one look at the stubborn set of Paisley's jaw told me that arguing would be useless. 

"Ugh, fine," I grumbled, turning to stare up at the bottom of Leo's bunk again. "Uh...I guess I used to want to be a police officer when I was little."

Paisley leaned over me so that her face appeared in my line of vision, her expression curious.

"Really?" she asked. "Why?"

I shrugged uncomfortably and turned slightly on my side so that her face was no longer in my bubble. 

"I dunno. I liked the idea of helping people - being a part of something bigger than myself. Plus, I have an uncle that does that and he and his precinct all seem like a giant family. I just think it would be cool to belong to something like that. I never really had much of that growing up."

I stopped talking abruptly when I realized that I was saying too much. Paisley didn't need to know my entire life story, for crying out loud. This was just a stupid game. 

"My turn," I said suddenly before Paisley had a chance to comment on my previous answer. I thought about asking something basic - maybe what her favorite color was, or if she preferred cake or ice cream - but something stopped me and I instead found myself asking something that had been on my mind for a while now.

"Why do you try so hard to be something that you're not?"

Paisley's gaze snapped over to me with an expression like I had smacked her. 

"Excuse me?"

"No, I didn't mean that to sound bad, I just...when I met you at the meet and greet you seemed so feisty and sassy. And even now, I feel like I can kind of see the real you showing through. You're funny, and sarcastic, and witty...but it's like you never show any of that. Like you're just hiding behind ugly floral skirts and letting people walk all over you. Why do you do that? Why don't you just be you?"

Paisley was quiet for a long time, and I thought that she wasn't going to answer at first. I began to worry, thinking that I had somehow offended her. The last thing I wanted was another round of Paisley's tearful hysterics. 

"Well," she said finally with a long sigh, "I can't exactly be myself right now. I'm too busy being you." She bumped me playfully with her elbow, a small smile her face. 

I wanted to tell her that that wasn't a good answer, but I was too relieved that she wasn't mad at me to try to push the subject any further. 

"My turn," Paisley said, turning her face away from me to think again. When she looked back at me after a few moments, her expression was cautious - almost sheepish. 

"Why are you so against relationships?" she asked slowly, watching my expression carefully for any signs of anger or annoyance. 

I felt my heart thud uncomfortably in my chest. Great. The one question I REALLY didn't want to answer. Of course Paisley would somehow find my weak spot after just two questions. 

I stared at Paisley, my own eyes staring back at me warily. Even though it was my face, I could somehow easily tell that Paisley was behind my eyes. There was a guardedness in the expression and a softness to my features that hadn't been there when I was in control of my own body. 

My mind drifted to the words of the man in the commercial.

"Do you REALLY want to have it all?"

I sighed and took a deep breath. Maybe the start of having it all meant finally letting go of the things that weren't mine anymore in the first place. 

"Well...I guess it kind of all goes back to around four years ago..."

-

A/N: Oop, tragic backstory time LOL

Xo