The five friends looked at each other, nervously. "I knew this was a bad idea!" Bob panicked, eyes darting about for a hiding spot. "Your dad's gonna freak when he sees us!"
Holding baby John close to his chest, Paul said "I don't see what the problem is. We just tell him what we're playing and I'm sure he'll understand."
"Shhhhh!" Jack hissed, already approaching his bedroom door. He creaked it open and peered outside.
His dad called out again. "Jack? Did you hear me?" His voice was closer than before.
"All of you stay quiet, I'll distract my dad." Jack whispered before he left the room, and darted to the staircase as his dad finished climbing them. "Hey dad! Why are you back so early?"
Jack's dad was a burly 37 year old with a shaved head and a light brown goatee flecked with grey. Thanks to his healthy appetite and job in construction, he was barrel-chested and thick-waisted. He was still wearing his hi-vis jacket, his hard helmet in his hands. Matching thorny rose tattoos rested on each of his furry biceps, and thick hairs poked out of his open shirt collar. While he was rough around the edges now, he was quite the looker back in his college days. But he could still turn heads when he wanted, particularly with men of a certain calibre. Since his divorce, he had experimented a little. Not that he had told anyone in the family just yet.
His dad crossed his arms, his face stern. "It was quiet at the site, and I couldn't exactly leave you home alone all day, so I clocked out early. What are you doing up here? I heard yelling."
"Me? Oh, you know, just Fortnite! I'm playing online with the guys and someone sniped me in the final seconds."
His dad rolled his eyes and grumbled "You shouldn't spend all your free time playing that game. It's a nice day! Since I'm home so early, maybe we should do something, get some fresh air and exercise."
"Uhm, yeah, maybe later. Can I wrap things up with the others first?" Jack looked back over his shoulders, a tad impatient.
Dad sighed. "Ok, I'll be down here when you're ready." Jack felt a little guilty, he hadn't spent much time with his dad recently. His attitude as of late didn't help. He was usually a chill, laid-back guy but the stress of the divorce and long days at the site had left him tense and on-edge. His dad truly needed a break. If only he had started the game on a different day...
Just as his dad was heading back downstairs, there came a cry from Jack's room. "What was that?" his dad questioned.
"Oh, I must have left the game on..." Jack said, unconvincingly.
The cry happened again, along with some unintelligible screaming. "That's a baby... What are you trying to hide from me?" Before Jack could respond, his dad rushed back up the stairs and straight past Jack, into his bedroom. There was a loud clatter as he dropped his helmet on the floor. "What the..."
Inside were two older teenagers, one of whom was struggling to hide behind the curtains. There was also a grizzled, middle age man cradling a sobbing baby on the bed. All three of the men were shirtless, and a board game was set up on the desk in the middle of the room. Jack burst in behind him and yelled "I can explain!"
His dad turned around, dumbfounded. "Go ahead..." He mumbled quietly, in a state of shock. "Because I have no idea how to react..."
"Well, remember that game I bought last week? From the magic shop? I invited Ellis, Bob, John, and Paul to play..."
The older man on the bed spoke up upon hearing his name. "Hi Mr. Jack's Dad, sir!"
On instinct, Jack's dad immediately quipped "I've told you before, it's Hank... Hang on..." He paused for a moment, turned back to the man and gasped "Paul??"
Paul grinned and said "Yeah! How did you guess?"
"Well nobody else has ever called me 'Mr. Jack's Dad, Sir' ..." Hank said in a daze. He was at a loss for words. The stress must be getting to him. How could this rugged, brawny, tattooed man be his neighbour's sweet, little son? Although there was a strong family resemblance. In fact, looking around the room again, they all had a resemblance to his son's friends. "So you must be Bob" he said, pointing to the ginger haired man who poked his head out from behind the curtains. "And you're definitely Ellis" he said to the hairy, young man who pointed finger guns at him with a smirk. He turned back to Paul and said "Which means..."
"This is John!" Paul said, like a proud father introducing his son. "He got turned into a baby and he doesn't like it. You probably heard him crying 'cause he's upset that he's a little baby and I'm a big man!"
Hank turned back to his son and asked "So you're still the same-"
"Not by choice..." Jack griped with an eye-roll. Clearly the game hated him.
"Uhm, right... And your school-friends are young men, your best friend's a baby, and his brother is old enough to be his father?" Hank rubbed his temples and groaned. "Jesus Christ, I'm going insane... What even happened to you lads..."
Before Jack could answer, Paul piped up enthusiastically. "We've been playing this cool game that makes us older and younger, and I'm winning!"
Hank shook his head in disbelief. "Winning? You look older than your parents. Hell, you look older than I am! How are any of you OK with what's happening?"
Stepping out from behind the curtains, Bob lamented "I'm not! It's terrifying and I hate it! I wish I hadn't been talked into playing this stupid thing." There was a babbling from the other side of the room as John wiggled free of his brother's grasp and nodded enthusiastically. He was also having a terrible time! He wanted to be an adult like his friends but the game had some sort of vendetta against him.
Meanwhile, Paul's eyes lit up at what Hank said. "I'm older than you, really?" he said in awe. "Because I'm not bald like you, and old people are bald. And I'm all muscley while you're not, so you could be older."
Hank didn't exactly appreciate Paul's observations. He wearily explained "No, you're just a lucky man to not be balding. And to keep that physique at your age as well? I can't say I'm not jealous... It's all hereditary, based on your DNA and family history."
"Wow... So if it's herandary does that mean Jack'll be bald when he's old? Will I get bald if I get older?"
"Well we won't find out if we don't keep playing! Come on people, vamonos!" Ellis yelled.
Finally, Hank had reached his snapped point. He growled "Oh no! I don't fully understand what's happening but I know that you need to use that magic doohickey and turn back into kids!" He stepped forwards and reached out to grab the game board from the table.
"Woah, wait!" Jack cried, grabbing his dad by the arm. "We have to finish the game to turn them back to normal!" Jack said. Just then, he had a bright idea. A way to spend time with his dad and maybe give him that break he deserves. "Hey, why don't you join us? We're not that far into the game, you could still catch up!"
Hank's eyes widened in fear."What?? Join in this magic nonsense? Oh no, I'm not getting mixed up in this mess!"
There was a chorus of voices begging him to join their game. Before Hank could respond, Paul slung an arm over his shoulder and said "Please join us Mr. Jack's... I mean, Hank. You'll have fun, I promise!". He pouted a little, playing into his puppy dog eyes routine.
Looking into the handsome man's eyes, Hank's temper softened. He couldn't disappoint the charmer. He sighed and "Well... I guess if you all insist...". As everyone cheered, Paul swept him into a hug, his face pressed into the man's hairy chest, while Paul's beard bristled along his scalp. He managed to free himself of his grasp, doing his best to not look aroused by the brief connection.
Hank grabbed a players piece from the box, and managed to roll an eleven. "Talk about beginner's luck" he mumbled as he moved his piece along the board, until he wasn't far off from the previous last place piece. As he finished moving, he looked up and asked "OK, so what happens now?"