Colton quickly set the washer machine and scampered up the stairs and into Liams bedroom. Diving into the bed, he threw the covers over himself and tried to relax, hoping he appeared sick but it freaked out.
It was a few minutes, but Liams mother did push open the door. She didn’t knock, which worried Colton. He was a good fan of privacy.
“Hey sweetie! Is everything okay?” The older woman asked. She looked around and noticed the clothes on the floor had all been picked up, and the hamper wasn’t in the room. “You cleaned up?”
“Uhh... yeah.” Colton said, throwing in a dramatic cough.
“Ah, that’s my boy. Are you feeling well? You look a bit pale.” She swooped in close, placing a slightly cold hand on his forehead. “Yeah, you feel a bit warm... maybe I should make some soup.”
“I think I’m going to try and get some sleep...” Colton better off.
“That sounds good dear. A shame to feel ill on a Friday night. I was certain Garfield and you’d be running about. Well, you’ll see him when you feel better. Get some rest. I’ll make some of Nanas soup. It always made me feel better when I was sick as a kid.”
She rumpled his hair before leaving. Colton watched as she left, thankfully closing the door on her way out. He might slip out for some soup later, but for now he was hoping to find something out about the stick, the store, and the phenomena of “body swapping.”
Something that lingered on his mind was the name Liams mother had mentioned. Garfield. Who was that? Liam hadn’t made mention of a Garfield on the instructions he’d left for Colton. His first inclination was a dog, or even a cat like the comics. But he also hadn’t seen any signs of an animal while he set the wash earlier.
He pulled Liams phone out from under the covers and began a search of all the reasonable terms he could. For what felt like hours, he read up on all the fiction and non-fiction around the concept of body swapping. Everything seemed to point to the idea as just an intriguing thought experiment. A really literal “walk a mile in a others shoes” sort of moral lesson.
The idea crossed his mind that maybe being a bully to Liam might have been the impetus for his current situation. However, he had bullied a lot of people if he were being honest. A lot of guys had been caught in his crosshairs. Surely, if this was a cosmic retributive lesson, anyone could have been his swapping partner. Liam was one of the least likely among the bullied because he only met him a few days ago. There are more than a few guys Colton could think of who have been on the receiving end of his wrath for years now.
No, the whole series of events was uncanny and yet not ultimately a logical progression of events for a lesson. The store felt like a trap, like everything inside was meant to push him towards one item, one outcome. It was beginning to feel like someone had orchestrated this whole body swap... and Colton was determined to get to the bottom of it.
After a while of pondering his recent magical life change, Colton slipped out of bed and down the stairs. Liams mom has left the soup on the stove for him. He fixed a bowl, quickly filling up before cleaning up and returning to the bedroom.
He was halfway to his bed when he noticed that the window was open, which it hadn’t been before. He looked through the open window to the starry night sky. A chill breeze swept through the room. Colton turned, sensing movement.
A form, in the shadows, moved quickly up to Colton. Before he could react, the figure had wrapped him in their arms.
“Hey babe. Your mom said you were feeling ill. I wanted to make you feel better.” The boy said. He was tall, lean. He had raven hair, and eyes that in the moonlight shone a resplendent grey. He was wearing a leather jacket and plain white tee. His jeans were tight, and his feet were clad in black boots.
Colton was about to say something, when - still embraced by the taller boy - he felt his lips being pressed by the mysterious strangers lips. He immediately pulled back, shocked. Was Liam gay?! The mystery boy looked puzzled.
“Are you ok, Liam?” He asked. He gently stroked Coltons chin.
“I’m- im fine!” Colton said, pulling away. He was suddenly very aware of a throbbing sensation in his nether regions.
“Oh... that’s nothing to be ashamed of, babe.” The boy cooed.
Colton was very confused. Not only was he suddenly being sweet talked by a boy, he was actually being turned on by it. A thought struck him.
“Garfield?” He whispered.
“Yeah?” The boy responded.
“I think I need to lie down.” Colton said. He wasn’t sure what to do. He literally had no instructions, since Liam seemed to have forgotten about this part of his life. In all likelihood, he didn’t know how to break it to the jock trapped in his body that he was gay and in a relationship.
He slid into the small bed, and Garfield followed. He drew the blanket over the two of them, and motioned for Colton to become the little spoon. So much about how Colton was in his own life said to punch Garfield, hard and in the face. But Liams body was reacting in all the ways that his old body reacted to when he was with Alice.
In a way... he couldn’t say no to Garfield. It felt as right as right could be. The only difference, he never had been the little spoon before. Being a smaller boy now, he felt comfort in the embrace of the taller Garfield.
After a while, he turned to Garfield, who happily began kissing him. What seemed so wrong couldn’t feel so good, could it? But Liams member was awash with hormones and stiff with pleasure. Something Garfield quickly picked up on.
“Do you want to?” He asked. His face was so sexy, half silver in the moonlight, half shadow.
But his nerves won out in the end.
“No... I’m not feeling too good. Can we just sleep? I hope that’s okay?” Colton begged off.
“Of course, handsome.” Garfield smiled. They went back to spooning, and Garfield occasionally gave Colton the gentlest of kisses on his neck, while massaging his scalp and hair lightly. Colton felt amazing, despite his internal confusion.
Eventually, he fell asleep.