Mike was gay. It wasn't obvious to everyone but anyone close to him knew. He liked sports and cars and all the usual guy things and he looked straight. But he was attracted to men more than he was attracted to women.
Jeff was homophobic. He wasn't a bully. He didn't go out of his way to cause Mike problems. He just didn't care to be around Mike.
That's where I came in. I like to help people. You could call me a fairy but I wish you wouldn't. Your idea of fairies is insulting. Yes I'm a tiny person with tiny wings and I can do magic. But don't laugh or you'll wind up a braying donkey.
I can grow and change my shape. I like to disguise myself as someone who needs help and if someone helps me, I reward them. That's how I met Mike. I had disguised myself as an old man whose glasses had fallen off and Mike retrieved them for me. So I followed him around to learn how best to reward him.
That's how I met Jeff. Mike and Jeff were so much alike. They were practically twins even though they weren't related. They could have easily been friends if only they could have learned to understand each other. It was a sad situation.
You see both boys played rugby. During a line-out, the coach wanted Jeff to be the jumper and Mike to be the lifter. Coach thought Jeff had the best skill for catching the ball and Mike had the best skill for lifting Jeff toward the ball.
Jeff reluctantly agreed and played rugby but his attitude of resentment could be seen by everyone. The coach tried to talk to Jeff to figure out what his problem was and that's when I overheard Jeff say, "It's bad enough I have to let some guy touch my butt but does it have to be Mike?"
That's when I knew what to do. I wrote a note and fashioned two magic needles. Then I gave the note and needles to Mike.
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Mike's POV
We'd lost another game thanks to Jeff. The coach said it's not Jeff's fault but he agreed to talk to Jeff about his unsportsmanlike attitude. So I went home and got ready for bed.
I was just about to crawl into bed when I saw something glowing on my pillow. The glow grew bigger until it filled my whole pillow and then something appeared. As soon as it appeared, the glow went away. I saw what looked like a letter but it was in a fancy envelope.
I stood there for a long time not believing what I'd just seen but nothing else strange happened so I walked over and picked up the envelope. It made my fingers feel tingly but otherwise, it seemed ordinary. I opened it up and found a card with two needles. The needles shimmered and changed colors. I read the note:
"Walk a mile in his shoes. Stick one needle in your shoe and stick the other needle in his shoe, then walk around a while and you will each understand the other better. Warning: this magic is a swapping magic so while he becomes you, you become him. Try it out on Jeff. I know that's what you want."
I sat there wondering if this was a joke but the needles continued to change color in a magical way. I began to believe in magic.
So the next time we went to practice, I took the needles. When I had a chance, I stuck a needle in Jeff's shoe and I stuck a needle in my shoe. Then I started to walk around. Nothing happened. Then Jeff put his shoes on and headed for the field. I followed him to the field.
Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my foot. It hurt so bad I stumbled and fell face first on the ground. Someone came over and helped me up saying, "Jeff are you okay."
I said, "Just got something in my shoe." I leaned on my friend as I lifted my foot. That's when I heard people behind me asking Mike if he was okay. I looked behind me and I saw me laying on the ground holding my foot. I was now Jeff and Jeff was now me.
Mike pulled his shoe off and looked inside and I feared he might find the needle but he found nothing. I pulled off my shoe, Jeff's shoe, but I couldn't find the needle either.
Mike said, "Something stabbed me but I can't find it now. I'm okay though. It doesn't even hurt."
One of our friends asked to check Mikes foot for injury but there wasn't any. Then Mike looked at me and he became silent.
After I reassured everyone that our feet were okay, I shooed our friends away so Mike and I could talk.
He looked at me and asked, "Is that you Mike?"
I said, "Yes."
He asked, "Did you do this to us?"
I didn't answer but I'm sure he knew. I asked, "Are you mad?"
He said, "I hope you don't expect me to go have a gay orgy cause I'm not doing that."
He stood up and walked off. I wondered if this magic swap was going to work out. If all we did was switch bodies, how was that supposed to help us understand each other.
The rugby practice started and it was easy. I thought I'd have to adjust to Jeff's body but somehow in swapping bodies, we'd also swapped skills. I saw Mike walking around lifting things and admiring his new upper body strength.
One of our friends said, "Hey Mike, we know you love yourself but can you tone it down a bit."
Another friend said, "I've never seen Mike this narcissistic before."
So at least Jeff was enjoying my body. That wasn't what I wanted but it was a sign that this might just work out.
It came time to do a line-out which means that Mike would lift me up. I had already learned to control my feelings, to not let myself think about Jeff's tight ass when I touched it. I prepared myself to focus on the game and not get distracted when Mike put his hands on my tight ass.
Mike lifted me. But I didn't have any distracting thoughts. I was completely focused on the game. Then Mike suddenly dropped me. I turned around and Mike had this look of horror on his face like he had blood on his hands. Then he started crying and ran off.
Coach chased after him yelling, "Mike, Mike, what's the matter? Get back here."
One of my friends put his arm on my shoulder and said, "Wow, Mike's never lost it before. How are you holding up?"
I said, "I'm fine."
Mike eventually came back but he didn't do any more practice. He went straight to the locker to change. I asked coach if Mike was okay and coach said, "He just needs to call it a night. He wouldn't tell me why but I'm sure he'll be okay tomorrow."
The rest of us finished practice. As we headed to the locker room to change, the coach pulled me aside and told me, "You played better today than you've ever played. I'm glad to see your attitude has improved."
I went into the locker and stopped by the mirror to admire myself as I liked to do. I liked Jeff's body. It was lean and smooth and he had sparkly eyes. But this time when I looked at Jeff's body, my body, I wasn't as attracted to it. Jeff's body was still handsome but it didn't give me the thrill I used to have.
Then I looked around as the other guys played around naked. I joined them in goofy male bonding but something was different. I couldn't put my finger on what. Whether as Mike or as Jeff, I loved the male bonding but as Jeff, I didn't get the same thrill out of it.
One of our teammates yelled, "Hey, Jeff's not being a stick in the mud." That was followed by everyone swatting me with a towel. That was not fun but I grabbed a towel and got my revenge.
Finally we headed out and the guys invited me out on the town. I said yes before I remembered that I was Jeff now. Jeff used to only go if I, Mike wasn't going. Mike wasn't around so I was doing what Jeff would normally do.
We went to a sports bar. I liked this sports bar because it was NOT loud and dark. There was just enough music but we could all see each other. Then I saw some girls. These girls had breasts. These girls wore low collars showing off their breasts. What was I thinking? I quickly looked at the guys but I didn't have any interest in them. I looked back at the girls and I was hypnotized.
One of the girls even said, "My eyes are up here jerk-wad."
I needed a moment. I went to the bathroom and thought a moment. Jeff and I had not only switched bodies. We'd switched skills and sexual interests. Just how thoroughly had we switched places. I still thought of myself as Mike but I also answered to Jeff. I tried to remember my past and my memories seemed okay. I still had my own memories except why was I remembering everyone calling me Jeff my whole life. I had Jeff's memories.
I went out and told my friends I wanted to turn in early. They complained but they didn't make a big deal about it.
I found my way home easily. That is, I found my way to Jeff's home easily. It was all so familiar. It was my home. I was Jeff.
My dad was drunk again so I snuck in the back to stay out of his way. I didn't know that Jeff had such a problem with his dad.
As I was about to crawl into bed, I saw something glowing on my pillow. It was a fancy envelope. I opened it immediately and it read:
"Don't be scared. I'm still here watching over you making sure this works out. You won't lose yourself completely. Imagine how Jeff is feeling right now? Pleasant dreams."