Chapter XLI

The first four periods of the day were quite stressful for Jay and there wasn’t a single moment where he felt even remotely comfortable. He considered himself lucky that Lilly had made herself such an outcast at school. It made it so that nobody attempted to talk to him, which was good because he didn’t have that great of a Lilly impression. He knew that Eric, Damien, and Liz all knew who he actually was but that didn’t make the occasional grins they sent his way any less uncomfortable. Though, he did appreciate that they all seemed to be genuinely happy that he was there. They kept their distance though, seeming content to give him space to figure things out. He was grateful for that since his conversation with Rina had given him one more task to fulfill that day: finding Vinny Mickelson and convincing him to delete the photos of her. Since Lilly shared first period with Vinny, he’d already confirmed that the boy had come to school and so, once fourth period ended and lunch began, Jay was determined to search him out and speak to him.

Lilly and Alice had fourth period chemistry together so he was able to walk with her out into the halls of the third floor. Alice had most of her classes with Lilly so he had her by his side thus far to help with his stress. They were going to head to the courtyard to eat lunch but Alice needed to use the bathroom so they first made their way to the restrooms. To wait for her, Jay pulled off to the side and leaned up against the wall, letting out a brief sigh of relief at already being through most of the day. As he did, he couldn’t help but to attempt to think up what exactly he would say to try and sway Vinny to delete the photos. It was a delicate subject and he only had that day to deal with it. If he failed, he would have to wait until he woke up to try again.

I can’t fail this, he told himself. For once, I need to stop being so pathetic and actually help someone! I promised Rina I’d get rid of those damned pictures so I need to do that!

“Good afternoon, my friend.”

Startled from his thoughts by the sudden voice, Jay turned to his left to see that Eric Reiner had come to stand beside him at some point. The tall boy looked even taller from Lilly’s perspective as he smiled down at him.

“Uh, hey, Reiner,” he stuttered. “What’s up?”

Eric frowned. “Hearing Lilly use my last name is kind of strange. Do you not think it’s about time we stop being so formal, dear Jay?”

Jay swallowed nervously, having always been slightly intimidated in the boy’s presence and his current circumstances only made it all the weirder. “Um, I guess. So, what’s up, Eric?”

“Much better,” Eric replied. “Anyway, I just thought I’d check up on you, is all. I trust Alice is taking good enough care of you but I still thought it was my job as your friend to check in. So, how are you feeling?”

Jay shrugged. “I’m honestly not sure, but…I can say that I made a mistake. I acted too rashly. I shouldn’t have jumped from the balcony. It was…stupid of me.”

“Yes, it was,” Eric readily agreed. “You gave us all quite a scare. Lilly and Alice in particular have been spending much of the recent days in tears. I was even struggling to accept that it actually happened.”

He’s telling the truth, Jay thought. Eric actually considered me his friend even though I’ve hardly ever talked to the guy. Hell…

He couldn’t help but recall the day he jumped when he went to Ralph’s to say goodbye to Alice. Eric had shown up and, after being seated, had walked up to him and said something that he had forgotten about until that moment. “Lilly and I will make things right with Rina. Rest easy, dear Brooks. You aren’t to blame for this. It’s not your fault.”

At the time, just knowing that Lilly and Eric were fixing his mistakes was enough to cause him to panic but now, looking back on it, he realized that Eric genuinely wanted to help him. He wasn’t a burden to him. He was a friend.

“I appreciate that,” he replied. “I really do. And…I’m going to do my best. I’ll wake up and…I’ll come back to school. I promise.”

Eric grinned. “That’s good to hear. This place wouldn’t be whole without you.”

“Oh, and also,” Jay added, “tell Lilly that I said ‘thanks’ next time you see her. I wish I could talk to her myself but…well, that’s not really possible right now. I owe her a lot though. She’s…a great person.”

“That she is,” Eric replied. “And if you tried to tell her that, she’d end up listing off her faults. The girl needs to have more confidence. She’s a more amazing person than she gives herself credit for.”

Jay laughed softly. “Honestly.” Then, realizing that he was being given a great opportunity to get some information, he continued. “Also, I was wondering but…did you and Lilly get rid of the pictures of Rina?”

Eric immediately turned a wry smile his way and Jay knew that the boy was seeing right through him. He knew exactly why Jay wanted to know that. “No, we have not. Unfortunately, a good friend of ours tried to take his own life and so, we’ve not been in the right headspace.”

Jay immediately cringed, feeling bad now that he realized just how much trouble he had caused.

“Though,” Eric continued, “if I were to speak to Vinny about it, I’d probably go to Mr. Alexander’s classroom on this floor where he’s eating lunch today. Too bad I’m so busy or else I would.”

Jay smirked. “Yeah, Gotcha. Thanks, Eric.”

“No problem. And I think I’ll take my leave. You clearly have some business to attend to. I’ll see you when I see you.”

He winked and turned to walk away, leaving Jay staring after him in admiration of his confidence. However, after taking only a few steps, Eric stopped and turned back, a hesitant look on his face.

“Jay?”

He cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. “Yeah?”

Eric furrowed his brow, seeming to consider whether to ask the question or not. “Just wondering but…do you remember anything strange happening on the day you jumped?”

Jay frowned. “Uh…not that I can think of. Why? What sort of things?”

“Ah, nothing,” Eric mumbled. “T’was a stupid question.”

Before Jay could press him further, he turned back and began walking away for real that time. Instead, he simply watched the bit recede, confused by his words as always.

“Sorry that took so long,” Alice said as she walked up to him. “That line was stupidly long.”

Jay glanced back at her and shrugged. “No problem. And actually, I was wondering if I could ask you something real quick.”

Alice nodded. “Yeah sure. About what?”

He took a deep breath, knowing it was going to be a touchy subject for her, then asked his question. “Have you talked to Vinny in the last couple of days? Like, do you know how he feels about everything going on?”

Alice immediately hesitated. “Uh, well, not really. I mean, I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I’d been under the impression that whatever he was hiding had been related to your suicide so I…was kinda mad.”

“And now?” Jay pressed.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. After everything you told me, I don’t know what to think.”

I had a feeling. This means I’m going to be going into this pretty blind to Vinny’s current thoughts on everything. But I guess there’s nothing I can do about that. I’ll just have to go balls to the wall on this.

“Alright then,” he said. “In that case, I’m going to talk to him.”

He expected Alice to show surprise but, similarly to Eric, she seemed to have expected him to say something along those lines. The girl sighed and glanced out the window across the hall.

“Yeah, I had a feeling that you’d want to do that,” she admitted. “And if that’s what you want to do then I won’t stop you. Do you want me to come with you or…?”

“Well, yes and no,” he replied.

She cocked an eyebrow and turned back to stare dubiously at him. “Meaning?”

Well, might as well ask. Can’t hurt, after all.

“I was wondering if you’d lend me your body?”

***

Contrary to his old habits, Vinny didn’t leave Mr. Alexander’s classroom to eat lunch that day. Back before December, he’d always leave with Damien to head to the clubroom. Then, after they got into their argument, he would head out to the courtyard to eat with Alice. But now, he couldn’t do either of those things. With the realization that his actions might have been one of the factors in Jay’s suicide attempt, he was utterly furious with himself. Now Alice was avoiding him and he knew she was blaming him—maybe rightfully so.

“Have you considered how what you’ve done has affected everybody around you? And I’m not talking about Rina. I mean the club and Jay and maybe even Alice.”

Those words kept replaying in his mind, tormenting him, reminding him of how full of himself he had gotten. Damien laid it out for him clear as day. Sure, what he did to Rina ended the bullying, but he failed to take into account how his solution might have negatively affected those around him. He knew Jay had been unsettled by it but he hadn’t realized just how bad it was. He ripped the club apart and now, he didn’t think there was any way to fix that.

Does it matter if I saved Alice if my actions hurt her in the long run? Yeah, I got Rina off her back but was it at the cost of Jay’s life? Fucking hell… What have I done?

He desperately wanted to do something to make things right but he didn’t know what to do. Eric didn’t seem to blame him but he couldn’t say for certain about the others. Damien in particular probably wouldn’t forgive him after this. The boy had warned him hardly a day before Jay tried to kill himself. He was probably pissed beyond belief.

Liz and Lilly made no move to talk to him either nor had he gone anywhere near them. He was keeping to himself as often as possible and he preferred it that way for the time being. Trying to face them would be too hard until he heard some more concrete news about Jay.

Vinny took a bite of his cheese sandwich and glanced up to look around the room. There were small groups of twos and threes scattered around, chatting and enjoying their break. He was the only one sitting by himself and he could feel their occasional glances his way. Even Mr. Alexander, who was currently sitting at his desk, looked up at Vinny every now and then, seeming like he wanted to say something.

I hope they just leave me alone though. I really don’t want to talk to anybody. I’m not in the mood.

Just as he thought that, he heard the door to the classroom opening and casually glanced to see who was coming. He nearly choked up his bread at the sight of Alice stepping into the room and looking directly at him.

Shit! What’s she doing here?! I thought she didn’t want to talk to me!

The girl smiled and he could tell that it wasn’t the same cheerful one he knew but rather a sad smile. He could only fear the conversation to come. He had been dreading a text or call from her asking to break up since she told him to give her space. Even after everything, he still liked her and wanted their relationship to continue regardless of how unlikely that now seemed. He waited with his breath held as Alice walked over to his desk and sat down in the one in front of him. She then turned her body around so she was sitting in the chair backwards, facing him.

“Hey, Alice,” he muttered.

“Hey…Mickelson.”

For a moment, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow in confusion. Alice hadn’t referred to him by his last name since that night at the diner. So why was she calling him that now? Was it her way of showing how their relationship had changed or…?

His body went cold as his eyes narrowed.

Was this not Alice Mendez?

“Who are you?” he demanded softly, not wanting to draw attention to their table.

The imposter chuckled meekly and shrugged. “You don’t need to get so intense, Mickelson. She willingly lent me her body. It’s me, dude. Jay.”

The words didn’t immediately process in his mind and for a moment, he just wound up staring at the person calling themself Jay. So, when it did process, his mind went into overdrive trying to understand what was going on.

“Jay?” he whispered. “W-what? I don’t…? How…are you here? Is it even actually you?”

He sputtered out questions, not sure how to react to this sudden turn of events. The only way Jay could be in Alice’s body was if somebody else currently inhabited his comatose one so if he were here, did that mean Alice was there? And why would anybody ever swap with Jay given his current state? Did Eric allow something like that? Part of him wanted to doubt that this was even Jay but, having experience with The Switch, he knew the boy wasn’t lying. He recognized the subtle mannerisms of Jay Brooks in the person before him.

“How?” he finally demanded. “How are you here? Who swapped with you?”

Jay smiled sadly. “Glad you believe it’s me. And don’t worry about Alice. She’s not in my body. As a matter of fact, Lilly’s the one currently in the hospital.”

“L-Lilly?” he parroted.

It was then that he realized more or less what had happened. Lilly and Eric were behind this. Those two were probably desperate to do something to help Jay and so, he could see why they would resort to using the gem. Though, it was surprising that Lilly was the one to go through with it.

When Jay spoke next, he confirmed exactly what Vinny had deduced. Lilly used the stone to swap with Jay so that Alice could take him to school and try to learn why he jumped. Evidently, he would return to his body after the school day was over.

“So then,” Vinny said softly as he took in everything he was being told. “Why are you in Alice’s body now and not Lilly’s?”

Jay sighed. “Because I thought you’d find it easier to talk to me if I had her face.”

Vinny grit his teeth. He hated to admit that Jay was probably right. It was surprisingly easy to talk to him while looking at Alice’s features.

“And why did you want to talk to me?” Vinny asked. “I imagine you’re pretty pissed about everything with Rina. What reason would you have to ever bother coming to me?”

Much to Vinny’s surprise, Jay frowned. “What do you mean? Why would I be pissed at you about Rina? I helped you, after all.”

It was Vinny’s turn to frown now. “Yeah, but…it was obvious that you didn’t want to help. I figured…er, admittedly I was afraid that the whole thing might’ve been the breaking point for you. I mean…I thought it was my…”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence as he became choked up with emotion. At this, Jay lowered his eyes and softly shook his head.

“Is that what’s been on your mind, Mickelson?” he asked. “Because there’s really nothing to worry about there. I jumped…for so many other reasons. I guess…the situation with Rina hurt so much because I knew she had to be stopped. She used to be a really good friend of mine and…we had to resort to that. It’s not your fault. If anything, it’s hers.”

Vinny looked at Jay silently for a moment, trying to figure out if the boy was being honest or not but, when he looked back up at him, Vinny could see in his eyes that he meant what he said.

He doesn’t actually blame me? But…that’s not…

“Then…” Vinny managed to choke out. “Why did you want to talk to me? Why would you waste part of your one day here to talk to me?”

“Because I need a favor, Mickelson,” he responded. “I need you to do something for me.”

Vinny had a hunch of what the favor was even before Jay spoke next.

“I want you to delete the pictures of Rina. I know as a fact that she won’t ever go after Alice again so they’re unnecessary now. There’s no point to them so it’s time to get rid of them.”

Vinny closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. He had already been toying with the idea of just getting rid of them. Damien had been adamant about him doing so and part of him had hoped that doing so might be able to bridge the gap between them. Now, with Jay sitting in front of him and asking him to do just that, he knew he couldn’t say no. He couldn’t ignore Jay’s request.

He released his held breath and reached into his pocket to produce his phone. Jay watched silently as he unlocked it and started up his photo app. However, he didn’t open his hidden folder. Instead, he set the phone on the desk and slid it across to rest in front of Jay.

“I shouldn’t look at them again,” he whispered. “So…can you do it?”

He feared Jay would think he was cowardly for pushing the job onto him but, surprising him once again, he merely smiled and took the phone. Jay tapped it a few times and after a moment, he slid the phone back across to Vinny.

“Done,” he said simply. “The photos are gone.”

Vinny lowered his eyes to look at the phone’s screen. As Jay had said, the hidden folder was empty. They were gone for good and a weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders.

***

Vinny felt oddly better going into fifth and sixth period. Since he and Lilly had fifth period calculus together, he saw Jay again when he arrived in the room. The boy gave him a subtle wink but otherwise didn’t say a word. There was nothing more he had to say. Vinny knew what he needed to do next and there was nothing more Jay could do for him. Their brief talk at lunch had been the pick-me-up that he needed to finally face his problems and put an end to the mess that he helped create.

“Go talk to Clark and the others. Make things right again. When Lilly gets her body back, I want her to return to the Magic Club in its full form.”

Those were Jay’s last words to him before he left the classroom and Vinny had taken them to heart. He knew Eric didn’t blame him and he had a feeling that Liz wouldn’t either. That simply left Damien as the one he needed to face and so, that’s what he would do. He would finally go to Damien and fix the gap that had been created between them. So, throughout fifth and sixth period, Vinny gathered his thoughts for what he wanted to say. Then, when sixth period ended, he got to his feet, collected his things, and rushed out the door.

His destination was the Magic Clubroom. After nearly a month since his last visit, he was going to return and he fully intended to get there before the others. It was time to set things straight.

When he arrived outside Mr. Lowe’s class, he found that he had made it in time. The only person he could see through the open doorway was Mr. Lowe himself, who was getting his things together so he could go home. Vinny took a deep breath, mentally prepared himself, and stepped inside.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Lowe,” he greeted enthusiastically. “Did ya miss me?”

The balding man looked up and frowned. “Mr. Mickelson? Well, what do you know? I was wondering when you’d finally come back.”

“Yup,” Vinny replied. “It’s been a little while but I’m back and I’m here to stay. The club room’s too quiet without me here, you know.”

Lowe sighed. “Yes… Who would want a quiet club. Certainly not me.” His voice was tinted with the sarcasm Vinny always enjoyed. “Well anyway, have a nice afternoon, Mr. Mickelson.”

“You, too, sir,” Vinny chirped back.

Lowe shuffled from the room, leaving Vinny there all by himself. The blonde boy nodded to himself then dumped his stuff at one of the desks and sat on the surface of the one next to it. Naturally, Eric would be the first to arrive so he’d have to wait a bit for Damien and Liz. He knew Lilly wouldn’t be there that day but, if all went well, maybe they could spend the next afternoon together like they used to.

However, he was confused as the clock continued to tick on and there was no sign of Eric. He was always the first to arrive by a long shot so it was odd that he was taking a while. In fact, it wasn’t until ten minutes after his arrival that the door was finally opened. Yet, when it did, Vinny was surprised to find that it wasn’t Eric who entered.

Both newcomers froze as they noticed him sitting atop the desk and Vinny was forced to realize that it was time to make amends.

“Hey, Damien,” he greeted. “Liz. It’s been a little while since we’ve talked up here so I thought I’d pay a visit.”

Liz was the first to recover from her shock as a wry smile spread across her face. Then, she glanced up at her boyfriend. “Don’t screw this up,” she teased. Then she turned on her heel and walked out the door, leaving Damien even more baffled than he already was.

Thanks, Liz, Vinny silently said. I owe you one…again.

Damien sighed as Liz shut the door behind her. He then turned and looked at Vinny, his features more relaxed than a moment prior. It seemed he was prepared for the oncoming conversation as well.

“So, did you know about what Lilly’s up to today?” Vinny asked, deciding to start the conversation off casually.

Damien nodded. “Yeah. Unfortunately I couldn’t do anything to stop her. I’ve never seen that girl look so determined. I could tell that she would never have forgiven me if I’d stood in her way.”

“She’s really changed, huh?” Vinny mused. “Lilly Harper… What an interesting person, eh?”

“She’s a good friend,” Damien said. “But I get the feeling you didn’t finally come up here after all this time just to talk about Lilly. And I do know she never told you about the plan. So? Did you talk to Jay?”

Vinny smirked. “Yup. The bastard waltzed into Alexander’s class during lunch wearing my girlfriend’s face. Threw me through a loop. And he came to me with the same request that you had.”

“He wanted the pictures gone,” Damien said more as a statement than a question.

“He did.”

“And?” Damien pressed. “Did you get rid of them?”

“I did.” Vinny saw a brief flash of surprise cross Damien’s features and so, he continued before the other boy could respond. “I will stand by what I said at my house last week,” he stated firmly. “I don’t regret doing what I did for Alice. Sitting back and doing nothing was not the answer. We had the ability to save her and so it is my firm belief that we should have. I wasn’t wrong on that and I know we’ll never see eye to eye there.”

Damien nodded but he didn’t interrupt, prompting Vinny to go on.

“However, you weren’t wrong either. I fucked up, Damien. I didn’t pay enough attention to how what I did was affecting those around me. I acted like I saved the day when the thing most precious to me—this club—was gone. And then, when I found out Jay tried to kill himself, I knew that what happened to Rina played a role. I wasn’t blameless. And even when Jay came to me and assured me it didn’t, I still couldn’t help but wonder if maybe…had I handled things differently, I could have saved everyone.”

Vinny exhaled softly. “I deleted those pictures. For Jay and for you. I don’t need them. I want the club to go back to the way it was. I want us to be friends again. So…” He slid from the desk and extended his hand. “Can we fix this, Damien?”

Damien gazed down at his outstretched hand for a second before smirking. Then, he reached out and gripped it firmly. “That’s all I’ve wanted,” he replied. “I miss the club, too, Vinny. As insane and ridiculous as you guys are, you’re my family. And I’m glad we can move forward from this.”

With those words, a wave of relief washed over Vinny. He was being given the chance to go back to the way it used to be. He wanted to believe that Jay would come back to them and when he did, they could all go somewhere as a group. When summer arrived, he still wanted to go to the pier and have a good time with them all. That was his wish and he wanted to make it a reality.

“Well, I guess we should get Liz back in here,” Vinny said, releasing his hand from Damien’s. “Don’t want her stuck out in the hall, now do we?”

Damien chuckled. “No, we don’t.”

He turned and went to open the door for his girlfriend but, when he did so, they were met with another surprise. Right outside the doorway, standing beside Liz, was Alice. For a second, Vinny wondered if Jay had come back to talk to him but one look at her assured him that this time, it was the real Alice Mendez.

“Mendez,” Damien said just as he began to grin. “Well, I guess it’s your turn to talk to him. I’ll wait out here with Liz.”

Vinny immediately wanted to protest, fearing what she might need, but Damien was already walking through the door, trading spots with her.

“Thanks,” she said as she passed him and entered the room, allowing the door to close behind her.

Vinny felt the relief from earlier instantly vanish as he found himself once again confronting somebody close to him. The problem was that he had planned to speak to Damien today and wait until the following day to figure things out with Alice. He wasn’t prepared and he wasn’t even sure what to say. And before he even opened his mouth to greet her, she said something that sent a chill down his spine.

“Jay told me everything about Rina.”

He meekly nodded, having assumed as much. After Jay’s attempted suicide, there was no way Alice would allow him to continue hiding it. And even if Jay didn’t tell her, it was almost certain that Lilly or Eric would have. There was no longer any feasible way to keep it hidden from her.

“I deleted the pictures,” he replied softly.

She walked forward and stopped only a couple yards in front of him. “I know. Jay told me at lunch.”

He swallowed nervously. “Then…”

“Tell me,” she interrupted, “why you did that to Rina. What were your motivations?”

He answered instantly. “To do whatever I could to protect you. I might have hidden it from you because I knew you wouldn’t approve but I never lied to you, Alice. I did everything I did to Evan and Rina because I believed it had the best chance of ending the bullying before it could get properly started. I wanted to protect you.”

Alice smiled sadly, her eyes suddenly distant as if she were thinking of something. “Protect me, huh? Well, I do appreciate the thought. And you’re right that I don’t approve of what you did to Rina but…that’s all in the past now. The pictures are gone, Rina’s leaving me alone, and Evan is probably still dealing with the police. It’s over…for real now.”

“A-and?” Vinny pressed, scared to hear what could possibly come next.

“And I wanted to apologize for ignoring you all week,” she said. “After what happened to Jay, my mind was so messed up, but…I still want to be with you as long as…you never pull anything like that again. You can look out for me but…not at someone’s expense like that, regardless of what they did to me. Okay?”

She…still wants me?!

Just hearing those words made him want to jump with joy. He knew both she and Damien were being more lenient with him than he probably deserved but he was grateful nonetheless.

“I swear,” he replied. “I’ll never do anything like that again! I swear on my life!”

Alice smiled that beautiful smile that made him feel warm inside. She walked forward and wrapped her arms around him. He happily embraced her back, thankful to feel her warmth again. He’d missed her over the past few days.

“Good,” she whispered. “Then why don’t you meet me at the diner in an hour? I still have to return Jay to his body so once I’m done there, are you free to meet up.”

“Absolutely!” he said. “Once club activities are over, I’ll be right there! And…”

He then thought of Jay, knowing that it was likely he wouldn’t see the boy again for quite some time. He had made sure to find him on his one day at the school to tell him not to blame himself. Jay’s talk was what he needed to take the step towards fixing things with Damien so he owed him big time now.

“Tell Jay I said thanks,” he continued. “And that I’ll look out for you until he gets back.”

Alice giggled. “Okay. I’ll do that.”