Chapter XV

Barely containing his fury, Vinny led Jay back into the diner, keeping a firm hold on his shoulder as they walked through the door. The blonde girl at the front looked up at them, clearly startled, so Vinny smiled as cheerfully as he could.

“Table for two, please,” he said.

The girl glanced at Jay, her eyes narrowed in confusion. “Uh, well…he’s already got a table so…”

“Does he?” Vinny laughed. “Oh good. Then let’s go there, shall we?”

The hostess uncomfortably pointed toward a booth in the back corner and Vinny immediately began making his way in that direction, thanking the girl as he did so. He noticed Jay’s friend, Alice Mendez, staring at the two of them with wide eyes, probably confused as to why he was essentially dragging Jay toward a booth. So, not wanting to make her any more suspicious than she must already be, he simply waved casually.

“Alright, sit down, buddy,” Vinny hissed in Jay’s ear, indicating the booth before them.

Much to his surprise, Jay still didn’t protest, instead choosing to quietly take a seat right in front of a plate with a clearly uneaten omelette. Vinny eyed the food curiously, wondering where Jay had been headed without having eaten his dinner, as he took a seat across from the curly-haired boy.

“You gonna eat that?” Vinny asked, indicating the food.

Without looking directly at him, Jay shook his head.

“Good,” Vinny grunted, reaching forward and sliding the omelette toward him. Jay was clearly about to protest so Vinny gave him a look, warning him to stay quiet. “Consider it payment for all the stress you’ve put poor Lilly Harper through this afternoon. Capiche, friendo?”

“Uh…yeah,” Jay muttered. “Sure. That’s fine.”

Vinny smirked, motioning for the boy across from him to pass him the silverware. Jay silently obliged and Vinny wasted no time digging into the other boy’s dinner.

“Mmm, delicious,” he said through bites of egg, onion, and bell pepper. “I’ve never had an omelette from here before. Is this Meirion?”

“Uh, yeah,” Jay mumbled.

Vinny nodded. “I thought so. I’ll have to get this again. It’s quite tasty. Although, I’m a tad parched. I could really go for a drink, you know? Would you mind…maybe, getting me a soda or something?”

He knew his teasing must be affecting the typically hostile boy so Vinny was simply waiting for him to inevitably snap and start arguing with him. So he continued to be surprised when Jay obliged, waving down one of the waitresses and putting in an order of a Dr. Bell soda.

Vinny narrowed his eyes. What the hell is up with him? Why’s he acting so passive? It’s almost like he’s a different…

The blonde boy’s smile suddenly faded as the realization set it. He felt his stomach churn as he prayed that he was mistaken.

Oh you son of a bitch!

“So…I assume you know why I’m here?” Vinny asked, wanting to get to the point and thus, no longer putting up a mask of cheer.

Jay nodded softly. “I do.”

Then, without saying another word, the boy reached into his pocket and placed Eric’s stone right down onto the table in front of him. It was so quick and easy that Vinny almost wondered if there was some trick. He still didn’t know why Jay stole it in the first place and with each passing minute, he was becoming more and more convinced that the person before him wasn’t Jay Brooks.

Watching the boy carefully, Vinny reached out and grabbed the stone, pulling it close so he could have a good look at it. Sure enough, he could tell simply by touching it that it was the real deal. The warmth emanating from its surface was enough proof for him.

Vinny sighed. Well, whoever this is…he’s clearly being honest here. Might as well be blunt and see where it gets me.

“You’re not Jay Brooks, are you?” he asked softly.

The boy’s head snapped up as he stared at Vinny in clear surprise. However, once the question had been processed in his mind, he didn’t try to deny it. He simply shook his head.

“I’m not.”

Vinny snorted. “The gem. It swapped you, yeah?”

“It did.”

“So…?” Vinny leaned forward, wanting to look directly at the mystery person to make sure he could tell if they were lying. “Who are you then?”

He sighed, then his expression turned stern and he faced Vinny with more confidence than he could have expected.

“I’m…Alice Mendez,” he replied.

Vinny exhaled sharply. “Alice…? Wait a second! Then you’re a girl!”

Oh god. And Liz always talks about how scarring it would be for a girl to be in mine and Eric’s bodies! I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be for her to have a face that would look right at home on a prepubescent boy!

It was then that something else dawned on him.

Oh shit! I’ve been teasing this poor girl for the last five minutes thinking she was Jay!

“I am so sorry!” he replied in a hushed but desperate tone. “You can have your omelette back and I swear I’ll pay for the whole meal! I didn’t mean to be so rude to you, Mendez!”

Alice panicked at his sudden apology and, had she not been Jay at the moment, he imagined it would have been kinda cute.

“No! It’s fine,” she hurriedly said. “You thought I was Jay and, after what he did, it was completely understandable that you would act the way you did! Don’t worry about it, er…?”

“Oh, Vinny,” he replied. “Call me Vinny.”

She nodded, clearly trying to process the whole situation.

“Okay…Uh, so…” Alice stuttered. “You figured out I wasn’t Jay pretty quickly. Did you guys…the Magic Club, I mean, already know about this stone?”

Trying to get past the sudden awkwardness of the situation, Vinny quickly responded.

“Yeah…we’ve known for a little while,” he explained. “Ever since Lilly and Eric accidentally swapped bodies after club rush.”

“Ah…” Alice murmured. “So that is what happened to Lilly. So, do the other members know, too?”

“Pretty much.” Vinny glanced down at the omelette sitting in front of him, considering taking a bite but no longer feeling particularly hungry. Instead, he simply grabbed his fork and started picking at it. “Just the club members and Lilly. And I guess you and Jay now, too.”

He grimaced at the realization that a dumbass like Jay Brooks now knew the Magic Club’s big secret. It only made him that much more apprehensive to tell Brad Fischer anything about it.

“And speaking of,” Vinny began, glancing around the restaurant. “Where is the little bastard?”

As if summoned by Vinny’s question, the body of Alice Mendez suddenly walked around the corner, her eyes drawn to their table and, the moment she saw Vinny staring at her, he could see the panic set in.

Yup, that’s the real Jay, isn’t it.

Vinny snapped his fingers and pointed at the ground in front of the booth, his way of indicating that he wanted Jay to come over. Luckily, he didn’t protest and made his way across the restaurant at once.

“There you are, Jay,” Vinny said, making sure to emphasize his name.

If there was any hope in the boy’s now female features that Vinny didn’t know who Jay was, it was crushed with those words.

“Where’ve you been, buddy?” he continued. “Cause if I find out you’ve done anything dirty in that body of yours, I’m gonna beat your ass so hard it’ll be flatter than a pancake.”

He could see both Alice and Jay turn bright red at his statement and he immediately felt both bad and amused. He didn’t think Jay had actually done anything, but he really wanted to see the little shit squirm a bit. However, he regretted saying it right in front of Alice.

“I-I wasn’t—” Jay started to protest but Vinny waved his words aside.

“Shut up,” he growled. “I honestly couldn’t care less. Now, give Mendez her body back immediately.”

He placed the stone back onto the table without ever looking away from Jay.

“A-are you sure it’ll work?” Jay stuttered.

Vinny snorted in irritation. “Don’t question me. Of course I know it’ll work. Just do it. Touch it at the same time and you’ll switch back no problem.”

Both Alice and Jay exchanged uncertain looks before they both placed a finger down upon the surface of the stone. For a second, both went completely still but it was over as fast as it had started.

“Wha…?” Alice mumbled, now looking down at her normal body. “It actually worked.”

Vinny snatched the stone off the table without giving Jay a second glance, feeling both bad that Alice got wrapped up in it all and pissed that Jay now got the club into a situation that wouldn’t be easy to fix. Both of them now knew about the stone and there was nothing he could do to change that. They just had to hope that if they wound up telling people about it then everybody would think they were insane.

“You can get back to your job now, Mendez,” Vinny said, trying to sound as comforting as possible. “Lilly and I’ll explain everything tomorrow at school, okay?”

The girl, still obviously shaken by everything that had transpired that afternoon, nodded.

“O-okay,” she muttered. “Thanks, Vinny.”

Without another word, the girl turned and left them alone, her brow furrowed in confusion as she did so. Then, with her having left, Vinny turned and went to look at Jay, preparing to rip him a new asshole for what he did to Lilly. However, when he looked at the boy, he saw him staring out the window, his skin even paler than before. When Vinny glanced to his right to see what he was looking at, he couldn’t help but to smirk.

Lilly Harper was making her way from the crosswalk and toward the diner.

“Well…this just isn’t your day, is it, Brooks?” Vinny sneered, enjoying the utter panic on the other boy’s face.

***

Leaving Downtown Wilham behind, Jay silently followed Lilly into the surrounding neighborhoods to the west. The minute the girl had noticed him sitting with Vinny in the back booth of the diner, she walked right over to them and, after hearing what went down from the blonde boy, she immediately ordered Jay to come with her, then collected the stone, thanked Vinny, and made her way out. Jay had reluctantly followed after her despite being desperate to not be alone with her after all that had happened. Many times did he consider turning on his heel and running, but each time, he remembered that he wouldn’t be able to escape Lilly at school the following day.

Not to mention that Alice would be utterly pissed, he reminded himself. Even more than she already is.

Jay shook his head. I still can’t believe that actually happened. Reiner’s stone actually caused Alice and I to swap bodies! How?! Does this mean that those magic nuts have actually had magic this whole time?!

It was such a preposterous concept that had he not experienced it first-hand then he would have laughed the story off. But there was no denying it given what happened. He had no choice but to accept that magic existed and that Eric Reiner had it. With that in mind, the true weight of what he did to Lilly set in on his mind.

I didn’t just steal some expensive stone, he realized. I stole actual magic from her! God damn…the panic she probably went through today because of me. I’m so fucking stupid.

He glanced up from the sidewalk to stare at Lilly’s back a few feet ahead of him. She hadn’t said a word since ordering him to come with her so he couldn’t even begin to guess what it was she was going to say to him. However, he was certain about one thing: Lilly Harper would probably never talk to him again after today.

And I’m going to deserve that. I wouldn’t talk to somebody who did what I did. She has every right to hate me. I just…hope she doesn’t take it out on Alice, too. She had nothing to do with this.

Lilly rounded a corner and came to another neighborhood street that Jay recalled was fairly close to the school. There wasn’t anybody around and so it was just the two of them making their way down the road. The sun had already set below the horizon and so a chill had set in over the lamplit neighborhood. Jay shivered but kept his complaints to himself.

Finally, after looking around for a moment, Lilly came to a stop. Jay did so as well, mentally preparing himself for what was to come. He watched with his breath held as Lilly turned around and fixed her stare on him. He expected her to glare at him or to scoff so he was quite surprised to see her looking more tired than anything.

“So…you know what the stone does know?” she asked softly.

Vinny had already told her about his body swap so he knew she was already aware of the answer. Nevertheless, he responded.

“Yeah, I do,” he muttered.

Lilly sighed, leaning her back up against a lamppost and turning her head to stare up at the stars. The moon was new that night so the sky was fairly dark.

“Look, Jay,” she began hesitantly. “I’m going to ask you something and I want you to just be honest. Don’t lie or anything, okay?”

He immediately nodded. “O-okay!”

“In that case…” She paused for a moment, her brow furrowed as if she were trying to organize her thoughts. “I guess I just want to know why you took it. Did you already know about it or…?”

As she trailed off, Lilly averted her eyes from the sky and looked at him once again. There was an oddly desperate look in them, as if his answer was actually important to her. So, having no reason to lie and not wanting to anger her any further, he replied truthfully.

“I was worried about you,” he admitted. “Something changed after that day where…well, I guess where you swapped bodies with Reiner. That whole situation was enough to scare me, but then you started hanging out with the Magic Club which…well, no offense but was definitely out of character for you.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Meaning?”

“Well…you aren’t exactly a social butterfly, are you, Harper?” he replied. “I mean, Alice and I clearly put you on edge so I couldn’t fathom you associating with people like Reiner and Mickelson. It was just strange.”

Jay noticed her frown and thought she might interrupt but, when she stayed silent, he decided to finish his explanation.

“I remembered you—er, or I guess it was actually Reiner—going on about the stone having some sort of power and so, when I saw the guy give the stone to you at practice, I just had a feeling that it might have had something to do with your weird behavior. So…I acted on an admittedly stupid impulse and took it. That was it. And I regretted it immediately. I don’t know why I felt the need to take it…I just did.” He exhaled softly, feeling his cheeks starting to burn from embarrassment as he realized just how much of an idiot he was. “I honestly didn’t know there was any magic in it or anything. Swapping with Alice was an accident. I swear.”

He finished his story and braced himself, knowing that if Lilly was going to get mad then it was going to happen now, after hearing his dumbass reasoning for stealing something obviously valuable from her. Yet, the girl surprised him yet again.

“But…I don’t get it,” she muttered. “Why would you be so worried about me that you’d resort to stealing?

He looked up in confusion. “Huh?”

“You even said it yourself,” she went on. “Clearly you knew I was put off by you and Alice and I never exactly treated you well. So why? Why do either of you give a damn about me? I mean…it just doesn’t make sense. I was so obvious about it that I’m sure I came across as a bit of an asshole.”

Lilly was looking at him with an expression of genuine curiosity. It was as if that question had been nagging at her and it made him realize just how strange his actions must have seemed from her point of view. Despite the situation, he couldn’t help but to smile a bit.

“Well, a bit is probably an understatement,” he replied wryly. “I mean, what kind of person actually forgets their phone for nearly a month straight?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Watch it, you frickin thief.”

He put his hands up in defense and looked away in embarrassment. “Yeah, touché.”

“But really,” she pressed. “Why would you worry so much about somebody like me? What am I to you?”

For a moment, he hesitated. She had urged him to be honest with her and at the time, he had every intention of doing so. However, for that question, he knew there was no way he could tell her the truth. Yet, he knew he could never have lied to her either given what he did so, he opted instead to only tell her a part of the truth.

“You…remind me of an old friend of mine,” he said after a moment.

The girl frowned. “An old friend?”

“Yeah,” he replied softly. “She was a lot like you, honestly. She was reserved and she didn’t like people but when she did open up, she was one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever known.”

Jay couldn’t help but feel a pain in his stomach as the laughing features of his old friend resurfaced in his mind. He quickly pushed the thoughts back down just as Lilly responded.

“You…talk like you haven’t seen her in a long time,” she said.

“I…haven’t,” he murmured. “I guess I just see a lot of her in you. I dunno, maybe that’s weird, but I guess…I just feel a connection to you. I don’t think you’re the grouch that you want everybody to think you are.”

The girl stared quietly at him for a moment before surprising him for the third time that night. Instead of scowling or looking embarrassed or weirded out, Lilly simply smirked.

“Look, Jay,” she began. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m still pissed that you stole the stone but…” She chuckled softly. “Well I’m sure Vinny’s going to make you regret it so I guess there’s really no point in being mad at you myself. Especially not when you did it out of concern for me. I admit…I’ve been acting like a maniac lately.”

Jay grimaced, recalling the furious grin he’d gotten from Vinny back at the diner. He knew that even if he was lucky enough that Lilly was letting him off the hook, Vinny Mickelson would never let him forget it.

Nor will Alice, I assume, he thought in apprehension.

“So,” Lilly continued. “Why don’t we start this whole thing over? Clearly, we both have issues that we need to work through so…”

Pausing for a moment to reach into the side pocket of her bag, Lilly produced a cellphone. Jay furrowed his brow as she unlocked it and tapped on it for a moment before holding it out to him with her contact information displayed on the screen.

“Good thing I remembered it today, yeah?” she said with a grin.

Jay stared down at her number for a moment, completely thrown off guard by the direction their conversation had taken.

“You mean…? You don’t hate me?” he asked meekly.

She snorted. “I probably should, to be honest with you, but…no. I don’t. I want to be friends with you and Alice. I mean it.” She then looked down at the ground as if recalling something. “Not to mention you guys now know about stone so…it’s not like I could get rid of you if I wanted to.”

Jay couldn’t help but to laugh in relief as he pulled his own phone from his pocket.

“You know, Harper? When you actually talk, you can be a bit funny, you know that?” he teased.

Just…like her…

Lilly rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up. Just hurry up and take the number before I change my mind.”

“Will do,” he replied, quickly inputting her information into his phone. “And don’t worry…we won’t tell a soul about the stone.”

“Good,” she said. “Cause if you did, just know that Vinny will steal your body and run around the school naked in retaliation.”

Jay grimaced, realizing that her words were only half-joking.

“Yeah…I suspect you aren’t wrong.”

***

After the insane afternoon she’d had, Alice was thankful when her shift at Ralph’s Diner had finally ended and she could start heading home. It was already dark by the time she had clocked out so she was a little worried about walking home alone. Normally Jay stayed with her, but he had already been gone for nearly an hour and a half, having left soon after Lilly Harper had arrived. Part of her had wanted to go after them as she was dying to hear what Lilly had to say about everything relating to the gem but, since she couldn’t just leave her job, she had reluctantly remained behind. Not long after they left, Vinny finished the rest of Jay’s omelette and took off as well.

“I’m leaving, Monica,” Alice told her coworker as she passed by the front podium.

The blonde girl eyed her wearily, still clearly uncomfortable after the earlier incident.

“You’re sure you’re okay, Al’?” she asked. “You swear nothing’s wrong?”

Alice forced a smile and nodded. “Yup! I’m doing just fine. Thanks for worrying though.”

Monica grimaced. “You really okay walking home alone? I get off work in a half hour. I can walk with you.”

“Thanks but I’m fine,” she replied. “I need to get home and get started on my homework. I got a retake in math tomorrow and I think I need to study a bit more.”

“Alright then,” Monica said with a sigh. “But be careful, okay?”

“I will,” she assured her. “Good night, Monica.”

“Night, Alice.”

With a wave, the girl turned and headed through the front doors of the now relatively empty diner. It was oddly chilly for a summer night and she immediately wished she’d brought a jacket.

The downtown streets were just as packed as when she arrived for work despite the late hour so there were still people across the street, browsing shops and getting late dinners or dessert at nearby restaurants. Alice was about to start making her way toward the crosswalk when a voice suddenly called out to her.

“Yo, Mendez!”

She stopped in surprise and glanced to her right to see Vinny getting to his feet, evidently having been sitting up against the wall of the building.

“Uh, Vinny?” she stuttered, taken aback by his presence since she had been under the impression that he had left a while ago. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you go home?”

He chuckled and shrugged. “Nah. I thought about it, but figured it might be better to hang back and wait for you. I imagine you’re probably pretty damn confused after everything that happened today.”

“You…? You were waiting for me?” she asked softly.

“Yup,” he replied, as if it was no big deal that he spent an hour and a half waiting for somebody he hardly knew. “So do you mind if I walk with you?”

She quickly smiled and nodded. “By all means, come along. It’ll be nice to have some company.”

“Awesome.” He grinned back at her. “That way you won’t be walking home alone. It’s not safe for a maiden as fair as yourself to be walking the dangerous streets by your lonesome.”

She couldn’t help but to cock an eyebrow at the strange accent he was speaking in but, despite how weird it was, she found it kind of endearing. Failing to contain a laugh, Alice motioned for him to walk with her and the two started making their way toward the crosswalk.

“Oh, by the way,” Vinny began after pressing the button to cross with his elbow. “I thought I ought to apologize again for being so rude earlier. I didn’t even consider that you might not be Jay.”

Alice couldn’t help but smile at the fact that he seemed genuinely embarrassed by his actions. After all, she had been under the impression that Vinny Mickelson was incapable of being embarrassed given his reputation around school.

“It’s fine, Vinny,” she assured him. “I understand. I’m sure you were panicked about losing something as valuable as that stone and I’m sure you were pissed at Jay…rightfully so, even.”

The beeping of the crosswalk sounded and the two began making their way across the street, keeping to the right to avoid those walking toward them.

“Maybe…but still,” he muttered. “It was rude. So, I’m hoping I can make it up to you.”

“Oh? How so?” she inquired curiously.

He grinned slyly. “I’ll answer any questions you have to the best of my ability. Although, I will admit that I don’t know much about that stone either, but still…”

She laughed. “Okay then. In that case, I’ll bite. What do you know about the stone? I’m curious.”

He didn’t even hesitate to begin filling her in on everything he and the Magic Club had learned about the gem. Apparently, Lilly and the club met a few weeks back to start experimenting with it and learned a few details relating to its effects on both the bodies and minds when under a swap. She listened intently, fascinated by both the existence of such a stone and by the effort the club put into learning about it. She even found that it all explained Lilly’s weird behavior in the recent days.

As they walked, Alice noticed Vinny glancing around at the shops nearby, particularly at the ice cream store they passed. The scents of dinner wafted through the air and Alice found herself oddly hungry despite having already eaten. If she hadn’t been in such a hurry to get home, she might have asked Vinny if he wanted to get something to eat.

“That’s so crazy,” she said once he finished his story.

He shrugged casually. “I know, but it’s real. All this time, I thought Eric Reiner was crazy and yet he was right. It makes you wonder what else is out there. If a body switching stone exists then what else is there?” He smiled, suddenly looking a bit distant. “The world suddenly became a whole lot more interesting.”

Alice nodded, realizing that he was right. The existence of the stone made it far more likely that there was magic of other types somewhere out there. It completely turned her perception of the world upside down.

“You’re right,” she said. “It’s insane.”

Then, a question occurred to her and, despite how embarrassing it might have been, she decided to ask it.

“So? Who have you swapped bodies with?” she asked. “You ever been a girl, Vinny?”

“Ha!” He shook his head and seemed to be trying not to laugh. “As if Lilly or Liz would ever willingly let a guy like me into their bodies. Nope. I’ve only ever swapped with Eric.”

Alice smirked. “I guess that makes sense. Can’t say I’d ever want a guy inside my bod—er, I just realized how weird that sounds.”

“Oh, you get used to it,” he replied. “The first few days after we discovered the gem’s power, there were so many times where if we’d been overheard, people would think we were setting up an orgy or something.”

The girl couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “I imagine so. God, this is all so weird.”

“Agreed, my friend,” he said.

The conversation slowly died down as they reached the less crowded parts of downtown Wilham. Alice took a left into one of the adjacent neighborhoods and Vinny walked with her. Gradually, the conversation shifted away from the gem and they just started talking about anything. Vinny talked about school and some of the Magic Club’s misadventures and Alice told him about herself and her cross country stories. By the time they were forced to go their separate ways, Alice realized that she had unfairly judged Vinny Mickelson before today. She had been under the impression that he was a weirdo that would be too much for her, but the truth was that he was a genuinely fun and charismatic guy. When she eventually got home, she found herself wanting to hang out with him again.

Well, at least I got his number, she thought cheerfully, feeling strangely giddy at the thought of giving him a call.

Maybe…this wasn’t all that bad of a day, after all.