My feelings can best be expressed in a song from the hit musical "Evil Dead."

[owingnobody]

Who: Boy and Trod. Toy and Brod. Oy. Nod.
When: IMMEDIATELY after the musical thread.
Where: A broom closet, or the first private place Bod- Troy? Sheesh- can find.
What: Well, what do you think?
Status: Closed (for the moment)

Comments

[troyboltonav]

Troy hadn't quite figured out what had happened to him yet. He'd been standing across the stage, and then he'd felt really dizzy and had been standing somewhere else. But his confusion came to a head when someone who looked exactly like him grabbed him and shoved him into a closet.

"I...what?" Troy stammered, noticing for the first time that he was wearing Bod's clothes. "I...you're...are you Bod? Am I...what is this?" Yeah, he was a little less than coherent right now.

[troyboltonav]

Troy shrugged. "That's okay. I guess it's lucky there was a part like Jason for me to play because he's a lot like me. Or like how I was in high school. Except, um, more suicidal." He coughed. "Anyway."

Troy frowned, shaking his head. "I don't know. Nothing like this ever happened to me before." He nodded. "Ok. At rehearsals, I'll be you, and uh, you be me. But I'm totally with you--no lying to Clarice. She needs to know which one of us is which."

Troy smirked. "It was only funny because she wasn't hurt too badly. That and the little 'whoops!' sound she made when she realized there wasn't any more stage."

[owingnobody]

"Right?" Bod laughed. "Though, the 'crash' was somewhat less funny, and slightly more terrifying..." He shook his head, smiling. "Okay, so we're agreed, then. Just until everything calms down-- or we get switched back, whichever comes first."

He reached for the handle of the door, then paused, thinking. "You say Jason was a lot like you," he said. And he knew full well what Troy had meant, but he'd opened the door- wide- for this one. "So, you were secretly in love with your best friend in high school?" he deadpanned.

[troyboltonav]

Troy made a face, remembering the crash and how scared everybody was. "That's true." He nodded. "Ok. It's a deal."

Troy nodded. "Yeah...having a secret other people would reject you for. I totally get that." Another day, he might've laughed at Bod's deadpan words, or explained that the similarity wasn't like that...but he was feeling a little wistful because of the emotion of the play, and he nodded. "Yeah. Gabriella was my best friend. And honestly, people didn't think we should be together either."

[owingnobody]

That brought Bod up short. "...Why?" he asked. Was there ever really a good reason why other people could think that two people shouldn't be together? "Did they somehow think that their opinion was more important than your feelings?"

[troyboltonav]

"Well, she was a school brain and I was a basketball player," Troy said. "The only thing we had in common was that we liked to sing. We wound up trying out for the spring musical almost by accident...and my friends and her friends worked together to keep us from doing it, and from being together. I guess maybe they thought if we were close, we wouldn't have time for them anymore? I don't know."

[owingnobody]

Bod thought about it. It seemed... awfully contrived. "I don't know, either," he said. "It seems like a silly reason for two people not to be together. But then, I think that the fact that Peter and Jason are both boys is a silly reason for them not to be together, especially when they obviously mean so much to each other..." And what does that mean for YOU, in your OWN life, Owens? he asked himself. Feeling his ears turn red, he shook himself, and said, "I'm sorry they did that to you."

[troyboltonav]

Troy nodded. "I think so too. You know, this sounds a little weird, but sometimes I wish this would be the time the show would change...the time that Jason would figure out it's ok to love Peter and live and get together with Peter in the end. I know it can't, but you know. I wish it could." He gave Bod a friendly smile. "Thanks, man. I guess it doesn't matter now, but you know. Sometimes it's hard to forget stuff."

[owingnobody]

"...yeah," Bod said. "I know what you mean." And he did. In both instances. He sometimes wished that the ends of things-- books he'd read, movies he'd seen- had had different endings. Sometimes, before going to bed, he'd written his own endings to things, changing them to his liking. He didn't know why he hadn't tried with this one. It went right along with his wondering why he couldn't wrap his brain around his own feelings towards... other people.

He also understood about the past, and how it never quite let go of you, and how hard it was to put it where it belonged: in the past. "I know what you mean." Looking up, he reached for the door handle again. "Shall we go?"

[troyboltonav]

Troy nodded. He was glad that he and Bod were talking again, that they seemed to be getting along reasonably well. He was also grateful that Bod wasn't going to use his time in Troy's body to completely ruin his life--it had occurred to him during one of Bod's angrier moments, but he hadn't said anything because, just in case Bod hadn't thought of it, he didn't want to give him the idea.

Troy smiled at Bod, adopting a horrible British accent. "Right ho, guv'nor!" He held up his hands to show he was joking. "I'm just kidding. I know you don't sound like that."

[owingnobody]

Bod blinked, surprised. "Oh, NO," he said. "I haven't the FAINTEST idea how to do an American accent! Is it awful? You can TELL I still have my accent, can't you?" He put his hands over his face, then pulled them back quickly, disconcerted by the differences in bone structure. "Oh... hell."

[troyboltonav]

Troy shook his head. "No, don't worry. Listen, here's what we'll do. We'll say that we bet each other that we couldn't go a whole week talking in each other's accents. Actorly training or something like that. The director's so into AC-TING! he'll probably buy it."

[owingnobody]

Bod thought about it for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You're right!" he said. "He would, wouldn't he? Oh..." Feeling like he might burst into hysterical tears, he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Oh. This is a mess, isn't it?" he asked, taking his hands away and giving Troy a watery smile.

[troyboltonav]

Troy laughed too, nodding his head. "Yeah, he definitely would." He watched Bod in concern, seeing the other boy struggling with his emotions. He stepped forward, resting a hand tentatively on Bod's shoulder. If Bod had been a more effusive person, Troy might've given him a hug, but this would do for now. "Yeah, it's a mess. But the thing about messes is, eventually they get cleaned up, right? I bet you'll be you and I'll be me again before you know it."

[owingnobody]

"Yeah..." Bod nodded, taking a deep breath, and letting it out in a huff. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks." He looked up and gave the other boy a half-smile. "I am sorry I yelled at you," he said. "You really didn't deserve it. And, uh..." he scratched the back of his neck. "You did an awesome job tonight. In the show, I mean. Really, really good."

[troyboltonav]

"You're welcome," Troy said, grinning a bit. He shook his head. "Hey, it's cool. We were both kinda freaked out. About a lot of things. And I'm sorry I yelled at you too. I shouldn't have lost it like that." He smiled at Bod's praise. "Hey, thanks! You were great too. I mean, I know you're not a party boy in real life, but you really nailed it."