The Switch

Part 4

Ant and Dec slowly emerged from Ant's house and made their way to the car. The two men slid in the back seat in their usual order. Dec to the left of Ant. Ant to the right of Dec. That's when they notice Joe looking at them strangely.

"Everything alright, Joe?" Dec asked worriedly. He was wary of speaking because he knew he sounded nothing like Ant. Joe, however, didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just you two are sitting the wrong way round," Joe replied with a smile. The boys looked at each other. Physically, this was true. But mentally, they were sitting how they usually did.

"Oh, wow. We are," Ant laughed awkwardly. "We should fix this...Ant. Put Joe's mind to rest." He added with a wink.

"Aye," Dec replied as he awkwardly climbed over Ant who was sitting in the middle seat. He hit his head on the roof of the car, causing both men to whine in pain. They gave each other nervous glances. 'Sorry' Dec mouthed to Ant. He wasn't used to being the clumsy one of the pair.

"That's better," Joe smiled at the two nervous lads in the backseat. Somehow, he didn't pick up on the tension building and just began driving.

"This feels wrong," Dec thought to himself. He was so used to sitting to the left of Ant.

"Aye, it does, doesn't it," Ant leaned over to whisper to his best mate.

"What?" Dec asked at him with a questioning look.

"You said 'this feels wrong,'" Ant furrowed his brow.

"No I didn't," Dec stated. "I mean, I thought it like, but I didn't say it."

"Oh, so now we can hear each other's thoughts, too?" Ant laughed a little too loudly for Dec's liking. He placed a finger over his mouth to silence him.

"Shhh. Joe might hear you," he whispered softly in Ant's ear. Ant nodded slightly.

"Everything alright back there boys?" Joe asked, giving them a quick glance through the rear view mirror. He was still oblivious to their situation.

"Aye," they replied at the same time, staring at each other intensely.

Ant and Dec were extremely worried about how the day was going to turn out. How were they meant to make it through a rehearsal and a live show if they could barely make it through half a car ride? If people found out, everyone would think they were clinically insane.

The rest of the car ride was spent in complete silence. When they finally reached ITV Studios, Ant and Dec wasted no time fleeing the car in order to escape the suffocating tension that was building.

"See ya later, guys," Joe sighed to himself. They had bolted off before saying goodbye which was quite unusual. Although he was unsure what was wrong, he knew one think for sure. Something was off.

Without a word, Ant and Dec quickly made their way to their dressing room. They were still a bit early, so they decided it was best to try and fly under the radar for the time being. That would be the easiest way to protect their secret. Dec quickly yet quietly shut the door and locked it once both of them were safely inside.

"Bloody hell, that was torture!" Ant yelled, his voice muffled by the couch cushion he was currently stuffing his face into.

"Aye," Dec nodded in agreement. He sunk into the armchair beside the couch Ant was laying on. He ran his hand over his face. It wasn't even 11 o'clock yet and both boys were already exhausted. Dec began to chuckle quietly.

"What?" Ant asked as he lifted his face from the couch.

"You called me 'Ant' at one point, didn't ya?" He giggled.

"Well, aye. But I couldn't really call you 'Dec' could I?" Ant laughed. "God, that was so awkward."

"We've got a whole day of that ahead of us," Dec groaned loudly as he stuffed his face into his hands.

"You think he suspected anything?" Ant asked after a few minutes of silence. "Like our voices and that?"

"Oh, I dunno. It didn't seem like it," Dec responded thoughtfully. "Maybe he didn't notice."

"Maybe."

They were both startled by a loud knock at the door.

"Boys, you in there?" The familiar voice of a crew member asked asked.

"Umm yeah," Dec replied nervously.

"You alright, Ant? You sound a bit shakey."

"Aye, I'm fine Steve. Just a bit tired," Dec looked at Ant with eyes the size of saucers.

"We'll be out in a bit, yeah?" Ant added.

"Alright Dec. We're meeting in the boardroom, like usual. See you two in a minute," Steve stated before walking away.

Ant and Dec continued to stare at each other with wide eyes. They were both surprised by what they had just heard.

"He thought...you...were me," Ant said slowly.

"A-and he thought you were me," Dec added quietly.

"You know what this means?" Ant looked at Dec with a small smile on his face.

"What does this mean, Ant?" Dec questioned curiously.

"Nuh-uh. You need to call me 'Dec.' We gotta practice for when we are around people," Ant playfully criticized, him causing Dec to just roll his eyes.

"What does this mean, Dec?" He asked sarcastically.

"We," he stood up quickly and turned to face Dec. "sound like each other."

"But... you still sound like yourself," Dec stated, still confused. He also stood up to face his best friend. "And I'm pretty sure I sound like I usually do, too." He was still a bit skeptical because, come on, that would be insane.

"Well aye, maybe to you and me. But to other people, like Joe and Steve, I sound like you," he explained with a smile. "I don't know how or why, but that's how it seems, right? I mean this whole situation is crazy, so it wouldn't be completely impossible."

"Shit. That's insane, but I think you're right, mate," Dec sighed. Their voices were one of his main concerns, and since that issue had been debunked, he could relax a little. "That takes a big bit of the stress off the shoulders," he grinned.

"Aye, now let's get going. Don't wanna be late. That'll just raise more red flags."

Dec draped an arm over Ant's shoulder like Ant would usually do to him. They swiftly exited their dressing room and headed towards the boardroom.

To be continued...