Tom looked around, uncertain of everything. He started talking a thousand miles a second, waving his hands around as he spoke. “Miguel! I am so sorry! I had no idea that your family owned this place. At least, not at first. But then I came in, and everything seemed so familiar, and your mom started fawning over me, and I didn’t know what to do…”
“Dude, Tommy, chill. It’s okay!” Miguel said, putting his hands on Tom’s, which caused Tom’s heart to flutter as well as his dick to harden slightly. “I know you weren’t trying to put me or my family in a hard spot. And hey, you made it a lot easier for me to chat with you here.”
“Wait, are you already on your break? Is it 2:30 alrEADY?!” Tom asked, getting out his phone to look at the time. It was almost 2PM. He hardly even noticed that his voice cracked this time.
“It’s not quite two, but my tables were pretty light, and my cousin is covering for me so we can chat for a bit. Are you still cool to chat?”
“Definitely!” Tom said, smiling. Being around Miguel felt so peaceful and relaxing…it just felt…right. “So, I had a dream last night. I was in your family’s restaurant, well, here, I mean. Over there, where that room is. We were celebrating your birthday, and you wished…That you and I…I mean, you and Danny could be together forever…”
Miguel raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You know I wished for that? Like, you can remember that?!”
“Yeah…It was super vivid…More real than any dream I normally have…Then I dreamed some jerk kid was making fun of us…I mean, of you and Danny. At his youth home, I think. And I got into a fight with him, and he gave me a black eye, er, well, I mean, you know what I mean! Danny got a black eye!”
“Yeah, that was about a month ago. Jake Peterson lives at Danny’s youth home and is always shitting on Danny and me. He’s a racist asshole,” Miguel said with a frown. “Sorry that you had to remember that!”
“No, it’s okay,” Tom said. “I wanted to let you know. Because whether I like it or not, you were right. There are parts of me that are Danny. I’m still me, but there are definitely aspects that I’m going to have to get used to. Like the ADHD and dyslexia, and you know, that medication we discussed…” Tom still didn’t feel comfortable telling Miguel about the gay feelings he had been having the past few days, especially considering how frequently Miguel factored into the related fantasies.
“But at the same time,” Tom continued, “I don’t want to be putting you in a hard place. I know you said that you wanted to help me, and I really appreciate it, but at the same time, I know it must be really weird, considering that I am in Danny’s body, but I’m not Danny anymore.”
“Hey man!” Miguel said, holding up a hand to stop Tom. “Let me stop you right there. I chose to offer my help to you. I think you’re an awesome guy, and I can definitely help you navigate Danny’s memories, feelings, and experiences. And I’m not gonna lie, I do feel like I get a pretty good deal out of the situation. It not only helps me come to terms with the fact that Danny’s gone, but it also helps me, you know, continue on his legacy and shit. Even if you go your own way, and I never get to see you again, I will at least know that a part of Danny lives on, and that totally makes me feel at peace.”
Tom inwardly shuddered at the thought of going on in life without Miguel. Even though he had technically known the boy less than 24 hours, a strong part of him felt that he and Miguel were connected…bonded by a strength greater than even he could imagine. “Well, just let me know if things are getting awkward or if I need to step back or anything,” Tom said, running a hand through his red hair. “I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me.”
“Anytime, dude. I meant it!” Miguel said, holding up his fist. Tom met him for a fist bump.
“So, is there anything else that you wanted to discuss?” Miguel asked.
Tom paused for a moment. He was hesitant to ask this, as he felt somewhat foolish, but Miguel seemed so open and friendly. “Well, actually…I was wondering if…you could maybe, help me skate better? I mean, ever since I tried it last night, I’ve felt like it was a piece of the puzzle that I was missing, and it would be really good to have a decent way to get around until I get my license updated and everything…Plus, it just felt really fun!” Tom blushed at his admission.
“Hell yeah! That would be awesome!!” Miguel said with a huge smile. “We can totally hit the skate park now, if you want. It’s only a couple of bus stops down the road, and if you’ve got your board, we could skate there if you want.”
“Wait, really? I mean, I don’t have my board or anything, but I’d love to check it out…” Tom replied, not even registering that he had referred to Danny’s skateboard as his own.
“That’s cool. We can share mine,” Miguel said. “We could totally prank some of the guys there!” he added with an impish grin. “Brandon would have a fuckin’ meltdown when you show up acting like nothing’s wrong…”
“Yeah, but I don’t think I could pull it off for very long,” Tom said, a bit uncertain.
“Nah, man. It’d be just to pull their legs for a bit. We’d tell them the truth,” Miguel replied. “Shall we go, though? I only have a few hours break before I need to get back before the dinner rush.”
“Sure,” Tom replied, totally not thinking about anything else he might need to get done. Miguel ran into the kitchen quickly and returned carrying his well-worn skateboard under his arm. Soon the two of them were on the local bus heading down several blocks to a nearby park. Tom wasn’t incredibly familiar with the particular neighborhood, but they soon arrived at a large park that had a skate park on the far side.
Miguel led him to towards the skate ramps, where several other teenage guys stood around, several without any shirts despite the cool breeze in the air.
“Yo, Danny!” a young brown-haired guy came up wearing a lime green hoodie and skinny jeans. “What the fuck, man?! We thought you skipped town or got run over or something. Where the hell have you been?!”
“He’s probably been hiding out in Herrera’s room so the two of them could have some alone time!” an African American teen with short black hair wearing only basketball shorts, wristbands, and a silver chain necklace said with a smile, holding out his hand for a high-five. Tom met the high five, uncertain of how to respond.
“Dudes, Danny totally has amnesia! He doesn’t remember shit!” Miguel said with an absolutely straight face. “He was completely lost and forgot everything, and he doesn’t remember any of you!”
“Shut the fuck up, Miguel!” another Hispanic boy said, joining the group. He had curly brown hair and wore a white ribbed tank top and low-rider jeans, which showed off the top quarter of some Ethika boxer briefs. “Seriously, though, Danny, where you been?”
Tom decided to go along with Miguel’s story. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any idea who any of you are,” he responded truthfully. In the back of his mind all of these guys seemed familiar, and he knew he had seen them in the pictures that he had scanned of Danny’s phone that morning, but he had no idea what any of their names were.
A shirtless blonde-haired kid wearing gray sweatpants and a black snapback walked over, rolling his eyes. “C’mon, you’ve got to at least make it seem believable or somethin,” he said.
“I’m telling you guys the truth!” Miguel said, putting his arm around Tom, which caused Tom to shift a bit in an attempt to hide his boner. “Here man, show them your phone.”
Tom got the idea, and pulled out his normal phone, which the guys all looked at skeptically. “Shit, Danny! You got a new phone?” the brown-haired guy said.
“No, this is the phone I’ve always had,” Tom said, trying to keep a straight face, as he opened the photo app and showed them random pics of Matt, Alice, and other friends.
“This is some sort of weird fucking joke,” the blonde guy said. “Did you find someone’s phone on the ground? Don’t tell me you robbed anyone!”
“Oh, come off, Landon!” the African American guy said. “Danny would never rob anyone. His skinny white ass could never handle jail!”
“Oh, like yours could?” the Hispanic boy said, sticking his tongue out.
“I’ll beat the hell out of you and then we’ll see who could handle it,” the African American guy said, staring to chase after the Hispanic boy. The boy got on his skateboard and skated down the far side of a nearby ramp, and the African American guy chased after him, jumping on his board. The two raced on their skateboards around the ramps playfully bantering with one another each time.
“Ignore them,” Miguel told Tom. “They sometimes act like little kids. Not that you would know that, since you don’t remember anyone here.”
“So, if you don’t really remember anything, then I guess you’ve forgotten about how much better I am at skating than you, right?” the blonde-haired guy said.
Tom shrugged nonchalantly. “I dunno. Maybe.”
“No way! He really does have fuckin’ amnesia! There’s no way that Danny would ever admit that Landon’s better at skating than he is!” the Hispanic boy said, who had called a truce with the African American guy and rejoined the group.
“None of your story makes sense, Miguel,” the brown-haired guy said matter-of-factly. “If Danny has amnesia, why the fuck is he with you? How did you convince him to come here? Something doesn’t add up. What’s going on, Danny?”
The brown-haired young man walked over to Tom. Tom realized that out of all the guys there, he felt a strong connection with this one. Not like the electric connection he had when he first met Miguel. This was different. Like a relative or dear friend that you hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I know you…” Tom said, a bit uncertain. He tried to play through what he recalled from the dreams he had of Danny’s memories, but it was all unclear. Whoever this guy was, though, he was important to Danny. Tom was certain of that. “But I’m sorry, I don’t know your name…just like a feeling that we’re close.”
“Careful, Miguel!” the African American said with a grin. “Since Danny has amnesia, he might fall for Brandon instead!”
“Grow up, Ramon!” the brown-haired guy said, not taking his eyes off of Tom. Tom guessed that this was Brandon, whom Miguel had mentioned earlier. He thought the name sounded familiar and tried to place where else he knew it from. “Something else is up here.” He walked even closer to Tom, and Tom realized that he was at least a head taller. Brandon leaned forward, just a few inches from Tom’s face. “What’s going on, Danny?” he asked, his hazel eyes filled with confusion and curiosity.
Tom moved away, feeling awkward at Brandon’s closeness. “I…uh…I don’t know what you’re talking about. I mean…I really don’t kNOW you,” he said, his voice cracking at the end. He ran a hand through his red hair, trying to calm down. He felt trapped, like he knew he was getting caught in a lie. He realized he was sweating profusely, despite the fact a cool breeze blew through the park. Brandon’s intensity had unnerved him.
Brandon turned to Miguel, his eyes narrowing. “What did you do to Danny, Miguel?! I’ve been freaking out about his disappearance as much as you have, and whatever you’re trying to pull over us, it isn’t fucking funny! If you got him doped up on some shitty drugs, I swear to God, I’ll beat you within an inch of your fucking life!”
“Geez, Brandon, calm down,” Miguel said, unfazed by the teen boy’s threat. The other guys had backed off a bit. It was clear that they were at least cautious of Brandon’s intimidating presence. Miguel looked at Brandon and smiled his genuine, relaxed grin, which in turn made Tom’s heart flutter. Brandon crossed his arms over his chest in response, clearly waiting for Miguel to continue.
“You’re right, he doesn’t have amnesia. It’s something else, and no, before you ask, it’s not drugs. It’s science!” Miguel responded, continuing his smile as he spread his arms in the air above his head.
“Bullshit,” the Hispanic boy said. “What the fuck you talkin’ about, Miguel?”
“Have you ever heard of the Mind Store Machine project?” Miguel asked the group.
“Bro!” the blonde-haired kid, whom Tom believed was named Landon, responded. “My uncle had a friend who went through that! It’s this weird project where they like scan your brain or somethin’ and then it gets put into a comatose person’s body, so it’s like a new person in another person’s body! Like invasion of the body snatchers, except it’s all legal and shit.”
“Yep! That’s pretty much how it was explained to me as well,” Miguel said, nodding to Tom. “Danny here is now my new buddy Tommy.”
Tom raised his hand in a slight wave. “Hello,” he said, blushing at the teens. Why were a bunch of kids making him feel so awkward?
“Wait, so you’re telling me that’s Danny’s body, but now it’s got someone else’s brain inside of him?” the African American guy, Ramon, asked.
“Well, it’s technically still Danny’s brain, but someone else is basically at the controls, calling all the shots,” Miguel replied.
Tom nodded in agreement. “My name is Thomas Allen,” he said. “Those pics on my phone I showed you earlier were real. That’s my family and pics of me before I was put in Danny’s body. I had terminal colon cancer, and Danny saved my life. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be dead in a couple of months.” He pulled out his phone and showed pics of his old body to the boys, including some of him without hair after he had started chemo.
“Bro, that’s crazy!” the Hispanic boy said. “I can’t believe it! You’re like, all old now and shit!”
“Hey, I’m not that old!” Tom said, beginning to feel a bit more comfortable around the guys. “I mean, technically I’m 16, at least physically.”
“Wait, if you were an adult earlier, does that mean you’re still legally an adult?” Landon asked.
“Yeah, that’s what the doctor’s told me,” Tom replied.
“Bro! That means you could legally buy us beer and weed! That’s sick!!!” Landon replied. He started high-fiving the Hispanic boy and Ramon as they all looked excited about the possibility.
“Whoa!” Tom said. “I’m not buying anything for any of you guys! I’m guessing you’re all still under-age, and I certainly don’t want go to jail for buying you guys that stuff.”
“Ugh, see?” the Hispanic boy said. “I told you he was an old man now!”
Tom rolled his eyes. Santiago could be so annoying sometimes. Wait…how had he known the boy’s name? Had someone said it earlier? He didn’t think so, but then again, his attention span wasn’t what it once was…
Brandon had remained quiet throughout the conversation, his arms still crossed as he looked at Tom. “If what you’re saying is true,” he started, “Then that means something would have happened to Danny. Something that would have made him braindead, right? Isn’t that how that project works?”
A silence fell over the group, and Tom lowered his head sadly. “Danny was in some sort of accident,” he replied. “I don’t even know the details. He suffered some severe head injury. They were able to repair the physical damage, but his brain wasn’t functioning. He was in a lifelong coma. That’s how he got selected. Our brains had a strong compatibility with one another, and so my brain functions were transferred over to his body. I’m so sorry, but Danny, at least the Danny that you knew, is gone now.”
Miguel walked over and put an arm around Tom again, which Tom found greatly comforting. Part of him which seemed to be gaining in strength wanted to lean over and start making out with the sexy Mexican boy to his right, but Tom continued to maintain restraint. He still didn’t want to admit his feelings for Miguel, and he wasn’t sure how Miguel would take it all with him being in Danny’s body.
Brandon, meanwhile, finally dropped his gaze from Tom, looking over at the rest of the guys, who remained silent. He started to say something, but then stopped. “I need some time alone,” he finally said, grabbing a skateboard and then skated off in the direction of a nearby neighborhood.
“Dude! Brandon!” Landon called after him, but Brandon had already gone, leaving an air of silence over the rest of the young skaters.
Miguel looked in the direction that Brandon had skated off in. “Don’t worry about him, guys,” he said. “You all know that Brandon is one of the strongest guys in the world. He’s just got a lot to process right now. Right, Danny?” Miguel said, looking at Tom. He paused, then realized what he had just called Tom.
“Shit! I slipped myself!” he said, removing his arm from Tom’s shoulders and smacking himself in the face playfully. “Sorry, Tommy! Brandon was like an older brother to Danny, so I always relied on Danny’s knowledge of Brandon to help navigate some of his moodier moments. I’m still getting used to this myself!”
Tom looked in the direction that Brandon had skated off in. “I felt a strong connection to him when I saw him…Like I knew him really well,” Tom replied.
“Yeah,” Ramon chimed in. “Brandon’s been close friends with Danny since they were little. I think his parents even fostered Danny for a while before they got a divorce. He’s always been really close to him.”
“Maybe my little prank wasn’t such a good idea after all,” Miguel said, blushing.
“Ya think?” Landon said, flicking Miguel’s ear with his hand.
“Hey, watch it!” Miguel said, pretending to throw a punch at Landon. The rest of the guys laughed at their antics.
The boys introduced themselves, and Tom felt like he was interacting with old friends. Which, in a sense, he supposed he was. Nevertheless, he found himself surprised at how relaxed the group of skaters were. As he had expected, the blonde-haired kid was named Landon, the African American was Ramon, and the Hispanic boy was Santiago. Ramon was 17, Landon was 16, and Santiago was 14.
They went back to skating, trying different tricks and attempting to outdo one another. Tom watched the group from a bench near the ramps, a growing desire to join them. Miguel skated over to Tom and offered Tom his skateboard. “You should show off to them what you showed me last night,” he said with a smile.
Landon skated over and grabbed a Powerade bottle from the ground near the bench that Tom was sitting on. “Do you skate?” he asked.
“Well, no, not really,” Tom replied, “But I found out last night that I apparently inherited some of Danny’s muscle memory when it comes to skating.”
He paused for a moment, hesitant to grab Miguel’s skateboard, but a feeling arose in him that he couldn’t quite explain, and he grabbed the skateboard and placed it on the ground, skating forward to one of the ramps. A growing feeling of energy and excitement filled his being as he realized that despite the fact that he *should* be scared about going down these ramps, he really wasn’t afraid at all. Within seconds, he was skating down one of the ramps, coming up the side towards some steps, which he effortlessly jumped over with the skateboard, executing a perfect three level stair step. He continued his forward momentum, grinding along the side of one of the long, unoccupied stone benches, before landing again on the ground, skating around back to the bench where Miguel and Landon watched. It was like his body was on autopilot, and he was just along for the ride. Nevertheless, a feeling of exuberance like he had just gotten off a crazy roller coaster filled him with adrenaline. He could understand why these guys liked skating so much. He slowed to a stop next to Miguel and Landon, and Ramon and Santiago quickly joined them.
“Bro!! That was so fire!!!” Miguel said, utterly amazed by Tom’s skateboarding.
“Dude, those were some total Danny moves,” Landon said, nodding approvingly.
Ramon tilted his head and looked at Tom curiously. “You sure you’re not Danny and just pulling some sort of joke over all of us?!”
Tom blushed, but he shook his head. “That was incredible. I didn’t even know what I was doing. It just felt so natural! It was amazing!!”
Miguel watched the group, his trademark grin on his face. “Amazing job, Tommy! Glad to know that Danny’s skill lives on in you.” He reached in and gave Tom a quick hug. Tom blushed even more, patting Miguel on the back in an attempt to quickly break the embrace and hide his growing erection.
The group went back to taking turns skating, and Tom found himself continuing to amaze himself with his skating abilities. He did fall a few times when he tried a couple of more complicated twists and jumps, but he was impressed by his skating prowess.
As the afternoon continued, the group of teen guys started to wind down, relaxing in the shade of some trees near the ramps. Landon reached into his backpack and pulled out a metal case, which when he opened, revealed a couple of hand-rolled joints. He picked one out, closed the case, and fished a lighter out of his pocket. He lit up the joint and took a deep drag, blowing it out smoothly afterwards. Ramon similarly pulled out a pipe from his pocket and a bag of weed, cleaning his pipe and preparing a bowl himself.
Santiago looked over expectantly at Landon. “Bro, I forgot my stuff at the house. Can I have a hit of yours?” he asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.
“No prob, dude,” Landon said with a smile, sharing the joint with his younger friend. Tom took a deep breath. The incredible smell of the weed was intoxicating, and it was all he could do to not ask Landon or Ramon for a hit himself.
“Do you partake, Tommy?” Ramon asked, raising an eyebrow in Tom’s direction.
“Who me? Oh, no. I mean, not really. I’ve tried it once, but yeah, I’m really busy with sTUFf,” Tom replied, his voice cracking. He ran a hand through his red hair.
“Yeah, but he’s totally cool with it,” Miguel added, winking in Tom’s direction. “And he got Danny’s ADHD, so I’ve been trying to explain how Danny used it to help with some of the symptoms.”
“Oh man, it totally works!” Santiago said, handing the joint back to Landon. “I have pretty bad ADHD myself, but weed totally puts me in the zone.”
“It definitely puts you somewhere…” Landon said with a laugh.
“Fuck off!” Santiago said, knocking Landon’s snapback off his head.
“Shit, man, watch the merchandise!” Landon replied, picking up his hat from the ground and inspecting it to make sure it wasn’t dirty.
“You gonna join us, Miguel?” Ramon asked.
“Nah, bros. I gotta get back to work,” Miguel replied. “The dinner rush is gonna be starting soon, and my mom’ll fuckin’ kill me if I’m not back in time.”
Tom pulled out is phone and gawked. It was already 4PM?! Where had the time gone?! Surely they hadn’t been skating for a full hour and a half. He realized he needed to head home himself. He wasn’t sure what time Matt was coming home, and he should probably take care of stuff around the house.
“Are you coming back with me, Tommy?” Miguel asked, standing up and reaching out a hand in Tom’s direction.
“Yeah, man,” Tom replied, taking Miguel’s proffered hand and allowing the hot young Hispanic guy to pull him to his feet. “I need to be getting home soon. Gotta a lot of shit to take care of.” He realized that his tone had become much more relaxed than normal…It just felt natural here.
“Dude, man, don’t be a stranger!” Landon said, offering his hand up in a fist bump, which Tom met.
“Yeah, man! Next time, though, bring some weed for us. We’d, like, be forever grateful!” Santiago added with a smile.
Ramon rolled his eyes at Santiago’s comment. “Don’t listen to that fuckoff,” he said. “You’re welcome here anytime!” he said, high-fiving Tom.
“Thanks, guys! You’re all really awesome! It really was a pleasure to meet all of you!” Tom replied.
“Yo, before you go, why don’t you give them your new number? That way we can add you to the group text we got,” Miguel suggested.
“Oh yeah!” Tom shared his phone number with the guys, who all texted him with their numbers.
“See you bros later!” Miguel said, putting his arm around Tom’s shoulder as the two guys walked back to the bus stop.
“Man, you were epic out there today!” Miguel said, as they got on the bus.
“It’s so weird…” Tom replied as he sat down in an empty seat. “The skating feels so natural, but I swear to you I’ve never skated before yesterday.”
“It’s cuz you’ve got the body and muscles of one of the best skaters in the area, dude!” Miguel said, sliding in the seat next to Tom, his arm casually draped across the back of Tom’s seat.
“Still, I feel bad about that Brandon guy,” Tom replied. “I mean, he seemed pretty upset about everything.”
“He’s known Danny forever,” Miguel said. “Even longer than I have known him. He really is like a big brother to Danny, so I think the news hit him pretty hard. I definitely fucked up by trying to prank him over it. Usually he’s a pretty laid-back guy, but he’s always been a bit over-protective of Danny. I shoulda known better.”
Tom looked out the window at the passing streets, not sure of what to say.
“Hey, your leg shakes like Danny’s does whenever he gets upset or nervous!” Miguel pointed out, drawing Tom’s attention from the scenery outside.
“Huh?” Tom looked down at his leg, to see that it was in fact bouncing without him even controlling it. He tried to consciously stop it from bouncing, and it did, but as soon as he stopped concentrating on it, it started up again. “I didn’t even realize it was doing that…” he said.
“Yeah man!” Miguel replied with a smile. “It’s another ADHD tic. Whenever Danny’s sitting straight and he’s nervous, bored, or sad, his leg bounces like that. I used to always mess around with him that was the reason why he always slouched when he sat, so it wouldn’t do that.”
Tom tried to slouch a bit, but the space between him and the chairs in front of him prevented him from doing so successfully. Soon they were approaching the stop near Miguel’s restaurant. “Now, if you stay on this bus, and get off at York Street, that coffee shop that we met at last night is only two blocks away. I take it you can find your way home from there?” Miguel asked with a grin.
“Yeah, man. Thank you so much for today. I really had a blast,” Tom replied.
“Me too, Tommy!” Miguel said. As they reached the bus stop, the bus driver had to slam on his brakes to avoid a biker who had pulled out of an alleyway right in front of the bus. The bus missed the biker, but the sudden stop caused Miguel, who had turned to face Tom, to go sliding towards him, their faces mere centimeters from one another. Tom blushed at the closeness to Miguel. It was as if time had frozen in this very moment. Miguel’s sweat from skating, along with the distant scent of his cologne was intense, and Tom felt his boner return with a vengeance. Miguel did not immediately move from his closeness on top of Tom, their eyes locked together. There was a look of desire mixed with sadness in Miguel’s deep brown eyes, and Tom’s heart melted at the teen’s saddened look. Tom felt like his heart was beating 100 beats per second.
Then, time seemed to fast-forward back to normal, and the doors opened at the stop. Miguel paused, breathing a bit hard, but he pulled away, standing up to get off the bus. His relaxed composure returned, and he smiled down at Tom. “I’ll talk to you later, Tommy! Have a great evening!” He got off the bus with a wave, putting his skateboard on the ground and skating off in the direction of his family’s restaurant.
Tom looked around. None of the other passengers seemed to have paid any attention to him and Miguel. He breathed deeply. Miguel’s scent still hung slightly in the air around him, and Tom shifted his right leg to rest his ankle on his left knee as best as he could in the tight seat. This helped to hide the fact that he still had a raging hard-on, which he was trying to get to go soft before he would eventually have to get off the bus himself. He still wasn’t sure about these gay feelings, and he knew that being around Miguel was certainly not helping, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but want to spend more time with the charismatic young Hispanic boy who had impacted his life so incredibly in the past 24 hours. Tom didn’t know how much of Danny’s thoughts and memories permeated his, but whatever the case, Tom found himself anxiously anticipating the next time he would have an opportunity to see Miguel again…