Some Body

He was the drugged up version of me

Nora

You know how sometimes when you're reading a book and it says that time seemed to stand still or that the seconds were going by very slowly?

I'd never had an experience like that in my life. I always thought that some writer came up with it and other writers started to copy it because it sounded cool.

I mean, what had to happen for you to lose track of reality like that? Like you're stuck inside a second that seems to last forever. A second went by so fast, no matter where you are, no matter what you're doing.

That day, I finally got it. There's actually no better way to describe it. The moment when I turned around and noticed Neil was standing there looking confused, it hit me. Time stood still.

He didn't look like he was laughing at us, he didn't look sceptical, no, I could tell he believed. Which meant he heard a big part of the conversation. He understood the context and he understood what we were saying because he had been listening.

He knew.

And I could describe his face to you a thousand times because it seemed like I'd been stuck in that moment forever. Like my soul had left Sam's body and I was looking at the situation as if I was watching a movie.

We all froze. Sam, Milly and I didn't know what to do. We didn't know what to say. We didn't know how to act.

I think Neil felt the same way. All of the signals he'd picked up were finally making sense in his head. Why Sam and I had hung out so much, why we'd acted differently. Why he felt like I wasn't myself.

I heard Sam whisper fuck and I think I was the only one who'd heard him say this.

"Is this true? Or is this some sick prank?" Neil said as he slowly walked towards us. Was he afraid? Was it fear I detected?

"Would you believe me if I told you it was a sick prank?" I asked. I sounded deadly calm and I wish my inside was mimicking my outside but that wasn't the case at all.

Neil looked at me and then he slowly looked at Sam.

"No," he said, very certain of himself.

"I figured as much," I replied. Milly and Sam hadn't talked yet. It might've been the first time that I noticed Sam was at a loss for words.

"I don't know what to say," Neil said. "I'm kinda glad you're not on drugs. That was my initial theory."

"Gee, thanks bro," I tried to say lightly but the situation was still too tense to break it. Even though it was the perfect opportunity to tell Sam that apparently he was the drugged up version of me.

Much to my surprise, Neil hugged me.

We never hugged. I guess this was a special occassion.

"Are you safe in there?" he asked when he let go.

"I am. We are. We're totally fine except from having each other's bodies," I explained.

"And you did this?" he asked Milly. So he had heard the entire conversation.

"By accident," Sam finally chimed in. His brain was starting to catch up with the recent events.

"I'm gonna fix this," Milly answered. "I'll find a way."

"Yes, you are. You're gonna do the same thing to reverse it and if that doesn't work, we'll start searching for other solutions," Neil said.

"We? You're helping us?" Sam asked my brother.

"Nora's weird moods are the only constant in my life. I'm gonna need them back," Neil said with a small, almost invisible smile on his face.

"Hey, I'm still here," I told him.

"Yeah and she still has weird moods," Sam snorted.

"Fuck off," I nudged him.

"Oh, so you guys are actually dating?" Neil asked, "I figured that was your cover up."

"We -ehh... I mean... help me out here," Sam mumbled.

"It's ... a thing. The situation. We. Whatever," I shrugged.

"You swapped bodies and this is what you guys are being awkward about?" Neil said while rolling his eyes.

Milly started laughing and I was pretty sure she was laughing at us.

"Wait so how do you guys-"

"Milly, please. Ask them when I'm not around. I'm still Nora's brother. I do not want to know," my brother said while visibly uncomfortable.

"Can we change subject?" I asked them. Things were wildly getting out of hand and for a minute I wished it was still a secret. Although this meant that we would get more help.

"Yes! Let's! I'm gonna check the weather forecast," Sam told us with much enthusiasm, happy to change the subject.

After a minute or so, Sam started to sigh. I went over to him to see what his phone told us about the weather.

"Well?" Neil asked. I almost forgot there were other people around.

"It's not gonna rain for a few days," I answered.

"Wait, does it have to be the same hour? And do I have to wear the same clothes and stuff?" Milly asked all of a sudden. "I should make notes."

"Just to be sure, I'd do everything the same. Definitely same hour, same candle and, of course, the rain," Neil told Milly. He was ready to take this head on.

A few hours later, Sam and I were alone again. Milly had to go home and Neil went inside. We'd brainstormed a lot and Sam told them about the girl in Germany.

I felt mentally drained but I felt like we were getting somewhere. A part of me had real hope again and wasn't afraid to show it.

Although that stupid voice in the back of my mind was still very sceptical.

"Your brother can be intense," Sam suddenly spoke.

"Yeah... he can get that way. Only when he really cares about something he gets invested. But, like, way too invested. We're probably gonna have to tone it down at one point," I explained.

"Right. Well, we should probably start saying goodbye to each other's bodies because the day after tomorrow, we might get back to normal." Sam told me with a glint in his eyes I couldn't read.

"I'm so ready to say goodbye. Although, I'm gonna miss your friends. They're so funny. I know what guys talk about now when there are no girls around," I grinned.

"You don't have to say goodbye to my friends," Sam told me.

"Yeah, I do. It's not like I can just walk up to them randomly. I mean I could but that would be weird," I chimed in.

"It's not that weird if you're my girlfriend," Sam said while his cheeks tinged red. God, I always hated how my cheeks would turn red when I got embarrassed but it didn't really bug me knowing it was Sam.

"Oh, right. I guess I kinda assumed that you didn't want to hang out with me after we got back to normal,"  I tried to say as casually as I could. I even tried to ignore the sharp jab I felt in my chest while saying it.

"Are you kidding me? I fucking declared my love to you the other day and you still think I'm gonna ignore you once we get back to our own bodies? How am I going to get this through your thick skull," Sam exclaimed while pointing at my head.

"Told you, you needed to wear a safety helmet at all times. It's only logical that I need it while I have your body," I shrugged.

Sam narrowed his eyes and I knew I was in trouble. "You were teasing me. You better watch out, Nora."

"Oooh what are you gonna do?" I pretended to be scared.

Sam took a step closer so he could smash his mouth against mine. Raw passion took over as the kiss got heated. Our tongues were dancing with each other while we held each other close.

When we finally broke apart, we were both out of breath.

I really needed to watch out with him.