The Switch [COMPLETED]

Chapter 35

Asher Halen:

To say that I was nervous was a bit of an understatement. I had NO idea what Paisley had been thinking when she agreed to take this gig at her old high school, and I almost felt sick just being here. 

Ellie had insisted on dressing me this morning, and I had endured hours of being poked and prodded and pinched until Ellie had deemed me worthy. 

"If you're gonna face these jerks, you're gonna do it looking hot," she had said before squeezing me into a pair of skintight jeans. Ellie, of course, knew all about the awful things that people had been saying to Paisley. She still didn't know, however, that I currently WAS Paisley, which  explained her surprise when I jumped ten feet in the air when she had tried to stick some pointy black pencil thing into my eyeball. 

"What are you DOING?" I had screeched, scooting my chair back away from her so quickly that I had almost tipped over. 

Ellie looked at me as if I had grown a second head. 

"It's eyeliner. You've never worn eyeliner before? Come on, it'll look pretty. It doesn't hurt - just...hold...still," she grunted in between my attempts to dodge her and her torture device. 

She finally won ten minutes later when she forced me to stay put by sitting on my lap, and I emerged blinking furiously to try to clear the tickle from my eyes. 

I had to admit, though, that Ellie knew what she was doing. When she turned me around to look in the mirror, my heart had jumped into my throat. Paisley...well, I...looked freakin' hot. My hair was long and loose and looked incredibly soft and shiny. My eyes seemed huge, magnified and intensified by the eyeliner that Ellie had forced on me. My body looked fantastic, Ellie's outfit choice emphasizing the curves that Paisley usually insisted I hide under baggy tee shirts and mom jeans for the past few months. 

"Dang," I had breathed, twisting this way and that in front of the mirror. 

"What do you think?" Ellie had asked proudly from behind me.

"I would date me," I had said with a mirthless chuckle. Ellie had laughed, but I knew she didn't understand the joke in the same way that I did. If only she knew...

A few hours later, however, all of the fancy outfits and makeup in the world couldn't hide the fact that I was clearly uncomfortable. 

Ellie and I had arrived at Paisley's high school just moments ago, and I was currently waiting for the band to show up and meet us in the teacher's lounge, which had been converted into a green room of sorts, while Ellie went in search of a bathroom to freshen up. I hadn't seen Paisley all morning, and I was both curious and anxious to see what sort of crazy scheme she had up her sleeve. I knew that she currently had it out for Mackenzie; not that I blamed her - that horrible girl was the reason we were in this mess. Still, I didn't want to see Paisley dig herself an even deeper hole by doing something stupid. After all, I could take the hate, but I knew that we would EVENTUALLY switch back, and then Paisley would be the one enduring all of the glares and snide comments. 

A small commotion to my left made me turn my head, and I looked over in time to see the door to the teacher's lounge open and Paisley and the band being led inside by a middle-aged man in a sweater vest and loafers. 

"I hope this will do - we have some water and snacks over there on that table. Please help yourselves and if you need ANYTHING don't hesitate to ask," he was saying, looking back and forth between the members of the band with a harried expression, as if he wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to act in front of them.

"Thank you, Mr. Petrell," Paisley said brightly, earning a confused look from the man. 

"I didn't...how do you know my name?" he asked, staring at Paisley with a mixture of awe and curiosity. 

I saw Paisley blush, but she covered it up nicely with a breezy-sounding laugh.

"Oh, the school listed you as one of the points of contact. I try to make it a point to learn the names of those we'll be working with throughout the day," she said with a small shrug. 

Mr. Petrell stood up straighter and smiled, looking decidedly pleased. 

"Well, it is an honor to do so. Please, make yourselves comfortable. I'll return when we're ready for you. And thank you again for doing this - nothing this big has happened at this school in...well, ever! And who would have thought that it would be because of Paisley Monroe of all people!"

I frowned slightly at his tone of surprise. Why did everyone seem so doubtful of Paisley and I's supposed relationship? The words weren't even directed towards me and I still felt irritated by them. I could only imagine how tiring it was for Paisley to hear. 

I stole a glance in her direction, but if she was bothered then she didn't show it. The same pleasant smile was stuck on her face as she walked over and sat next to me on the small couch.

"Well, you don't know her like I do," she said, resting a hand lightly on my knee and smiling at me. "Now if you wouldn't mind, sir, the band and I would like a few moments alone to warm up. Thank you so much for all of your help."

Mr. Petrell, realizing that he had clearly been dismissed, nodded furiously and hurried out the door before shutting it tightly behind him. Once he was gone, Paisley removed her hand from my knee and scooted farther away from me on the couch. I tried not to be disappointed. 

"What did Ellie do to my face?" she asked, leaning in to get a better look. She pinched my chin between her thumb and forefinger and turned my head from side to side to inspect Ellie's handiwork. "I look hot!"

"Eyeliner," I said, blinking dramatically to show off my newly enlarged eyes, "and fake eyelashes, too. They really make your eyes stand out, don't you think?" I asked, tilting my head so that Paisley could see from a different angle. 

While Paisley nodded in agreement, I could see Tucker out of the corner of my eye staring at me with a worried expression.  

"Dude...you're really starting to freak me out," he said, looking at me like I had just turned green and grown antennas. "Any luck figuring out how to get you guys changed back? Because I'm not sure how much more of *this* I can take," he said, gesturing up and down the length of my body. "No offense," he added, looking at Paisley. 

She shrugged.

"None taken."

"No, Tuck. No luck," I said sadly, answering his question without enthusiasm. "It looks like we're gonna be stuck like this for quite a while. Until we can figure out 'what we truly need to have it all' or some bull like that."

Paisley wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue, sharing her disdain for the strange riddle. 

"I don't know what he meant by that," she said with a shrug. "For you, especially. I mean...you ALREADY have it all. What more could you possibly want?"

Love.

Freedom.

My own life without a million bloody cameras in my face.

"You're right - I do have it all. I don't know why he said that," I said flatly, picking at the cuticle of my ring finger. It was a nasty habit that I had in my own body, and I was sorry that I was continuing to take it out on Paisley's. "So Paisley, seriously - why are we here?"I asked suddenly, wanting desperately to steer the subject away from my depressing thoughts. 

Paisley's face broke into a wicked grin, and I felt a strange mixture of dread and excitement beginning to brew in the pit of my stomach.

"I just thought that Mackenzie might enjoy a nice little chat with her 'best friend' Asher," she said sweetly.

Why did I have a bad feeling about this?