Fantasy Two Halves of a Whole

[mon]

What an amateur, Acacia thought with a dry grin. She remembered the first time she smoked her first cigarette. It was awfully bitter and the smoke sent her into a coughing fit as well, much like the one Tyler was going through. In fact, seeing her body choke on a cigarette was almost ironically laughable. She was able to smoke 2-3 packets in a day without so much breaking a sweat.

Her hand patted Tyler's back as he coughed and exclaimed when he put out a perfectly good cigarette. It wasn't even half done yet.

"Hey!" she whined, pouting as the tobacco-filled paper sunk to the bottom of the glass, drowning. "You just wasted a perfectly good stick," she sighed, shaking her head. Seeing his pointed look however, Acacia choose wisely not to push more on the subject. Instead, she smiled meekly up at him.

"Hehe, come on. It isn't that bad, right? Even if it was, you did it wrong," she pointed out, getting up to rummage through the pockets of the pants he had taken off earlier. More starbursts were taken out. This time the orange ones were tossed in his direction. "Here, catch." She grinned, pearl white blinding.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"It's disgusting and deadly. I like living, thank you." He said as he caught the offered candy. He knew he was exaggerating but he really hated the sticks of doom as he called them and the taste was just horrible he didn't know how people smoked them voluntarily.

"Rule one: No Smoking." He said firmly. "And try to avoid looking as much as possible when changing. That's rule two. Anything you want to add?" He added, more for her sake than his. He wasn't super body shy but it would still be appreciated if she tried not to look.

 

[mon]

Acacia did not comment on his rebuttal. He was right after all but to each their own. It wasn't going to stop her from ruining her body. She could pay the expenses for her damaged health.

"Sounds good," Acacia said, not commenting on all the possible loopholes in rule two. Of course, just because she didn't want Tyler seeing her body, didn't mean she felt the same way about her seeing his. A devilish smirk appeared as she kept this to herself. "Rule 3, avoid my family at all costs. Except maybe Thomas. He's a dear."

"Rule 4, anyone who wrongs you, you must pay them back in full," Her eyes flashed with vindictive menace. "If they bite you, I've always been one to bite back and when I bite, I don't let go." Her lips curled in a sneer. It was the reason why she was called the mad dog. Her words came as a warning. If Acacia hadn't learned to fend for herself, she would've be crushed by now.

There were few who knew why she was so aggressive. Acacia had never been the kind of person to go out and trouble people. In fact, it was always the other way around. Upon entering Westmond High, she had been a target for bullying by the popular bunch in school. The girls because she refused to follow their rules and trends (Acacia was never good at following instructions, Tyler witnessed that first-hand) and the guys because she was merciless in her rejection. It didn't help that she had kneed the school's jock between the legs when he had tried to kiss her. That brought her a lasting grudge but Acacia had managed to pay each and everyone of them back through dirty, underhanded tactics. Seeing how they were unable to get back at her, the group left her alone, instead deciding to spread around the rumor of her being a "mad dog" in hopes to ostracize her.

Acacia found it cute. The nickname helped her to experience a rather peaceful, though lonely, school year. With such a reputation, she could not blame anyone for not wanting to befriend her. Most kept their distance, for better or worse. In fact, it's been a while since she last hung out with someone from her school. Who was she talking about? Tyler, of course.

"And Rule 5, you have to watch all the Freddy Krueger movies with me. I'd be scandalized if you haven't even watched one yet," Acacia added on a whim, counting her rules on her fingers.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler listened intently. The family rule he'll honor since she'll honor the smoking one, although he needed to bring to her attention that he didn't know who's Thomas.

The fourth rule gave him anxiety as he dreaded being included in school drama but he knew with being Acacia Romans it was unavoidable.

The Freddy Krueger rule was just a joke. Or at least he hoped.

"No smoking, no peeking, no family, yes biting, no sleeping. Think I got it." Tyler said a little shakily. "One thing though, I have no clue who's Thomas. If I'm going to avoid people I should know who I'm avoiding, right?" He asked, part of him a little excited about the prospect of getting to know about Acacia's family. He's pretty sure whatever information she gives him will be more than what the rest of the school knew.

Whenever this whole situation ends Tyler knew that things will be different between him and Acacia. Maybe they won't be friends but when they pass eachother down the halls he could see them at least acknowledging eachother.

 

[mon]

Acacia grinned, pleased to see that he was agreeing with her terms (though it wasn't like she was giving him much of a choice). "Perfect," she hummed, plopping back onto his pillows. It smelled of detergent and something fresh like citrus. Lemon? Acacia nosed into it and stifled a yawn.

"Thomas," she sighed as she stretched her limbs lazily like a cat, "Is my younger brother. He's the one person in my large family that you shouldn't avoid. The rest can be damned." She spoke with novelty, an odd expression on her face. "Mm I guess you can acknowledge Lawrence too. He's my eldest brother," she mumbled in consideration. The topic of her family made her comfortable.

Rolling onto her stomach she reach towards his laptop. "Hey, what's your password? Let's watch a movie!" Acacia said suddenly, her ideas were spontaneous.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Don't avoid Lawrence and Thomas. Got it." Tyler said as he shifted to get more comfortable. "Yeah sure. Why not? The password is 2001." He told her as he took a pillow and laid on his side while using it for support. He was tired of arguing and for once decided to go with the flow of things.

"What movie are we going to watch? We should order food by the way. Or I could cook us something." Tyler suggested. He enjoyed spending time in the kitchen and knew how to cook several meals but he never turned down pizza either.

 

[mon]

Acacia looked over and raised a brow. "That's so random," she commented on his password, trying to wrap her head around it, "Why 2001?"

But she keyed it in regardless and began scrolling through sites to stream movies online. Of course, after just talking about it earlier, Acacia chose Freddy Kreuger. It's actually been a while since she marathoned the grotesque horror film.

"Freddy Kreuger!" she answered, like it was the most obvious answer in the world, "What? You thought I was joking about rule 5?" Her lips pulled into a smug grin. Her eyes danced at the mention of food.


"Ooh, you can cook?" He did seem like the type to. "Please cook. Unless you're bad at it then don't," Acacia spoke with hushed fervor, turning to face him almost nose to nose, palms on the bed like an excited puppy.

Dorming alone and being a rich miss, Acacia hardly cooked for herself (unless one counted making cup ramen as cooking). She often ordered takeout or in the rare occasions when she's craving homecooked food, she'd call Callum over. It'll be nice to try something home cooked again.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Think, Einstein, how old am I?" He asked her. As he slowly rolled himself off the bed and stretched, raising his arms high above his head and causing a sliver of Acacia's porcelaine white skin to peak out. "I won't be able to sleep tonight and it'll all be because of you." He pointed out but didn't object any further. He actually didn't mind horror.

He had already guessed before she made it obvious that she didn't cook, and living in a dorm probably didn't give her a chance to. So since she's the one craving homecooked food might as well give her the option to pick what she wanted to eat. "Well I can cook a look of basic stuff. Nothing with a fancy hard to pronounce French name. So have anything specific in mind?" He asked as he stood in front of the dresser and grabbed a comb to brush and tie Acacia's hair so it wouldn't get in the food.

He, however, did not take into consideration that long hair is not brushed in the same manner as short hair. And if he continued with the way he was going he'll give himself a headache and Acacia will be bold. "Can you please?" Tyler asked as he turned to her with a defeated look, gesturing for her to take the brush.

 

[mon]

Acacia frowned. "That's a boring password," she criticized without any real heat. It made sense but it was also disappointingly plain, even for Tyler. "That's like setting your phone password to your name," Acacia snorted, hypocritically outing herself.

A smirk spread on her lips as Tyler harmlessly made an innuendo which failed to fly over her head. She looked smug as she winked in his direction, "Kinky, but I don't think I can get off to my own face."

She thought for a while, but wasn't feeling particularly picky. Acacia can and would eat basically anything so she shrugged, "Not really. Surprise me?" she mused, watching him struggle with her hair. She had already taken the brush from his hands before he even asked, afraid he was going to yank most of her hair out. With practiced ease, Acacia pulled her own hair back but frowned seeing how she had no hair ties at hand.

"Uh.." she looked around for something that could use as a makeshift tie, before ultimately deciding to use one of Tyler's shoelaces. Despite the minor setback, Acacia was able to put her hair into a decent ponytail. "There you go," she said, taking a good look at herself. She hardly ever tied her hair up.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Seriously? Does your mind permanently reside in the gutter?" Tyler asked the girl with a roll of his eyes as she started brushing her hair. It felt weird having hair that long and feeling the little tugs when Acacia met a particularly annoying knot, but it was almost nice. When she was done he checked out her handy worm through the mirror "You know you actually look cute with your hair up. Almost like a normal girl who isn't willing to bite someone's head off." He teased with a little smile, but there was definitely truth in his words. He truly did think she looked cute. Well, to be completely honest, cuter.

He got up gracefully and took the brush from her hand then set it on the dresser. "How do you feel about lettuce wraps?" He asked her, already having something in mind.

 

[mon]

Acacia responded with a cheeky smirk at his comment. Pubescent dirty jokes were her sense of humor so being teased for having a dirty mind bounced off her skin like water on oil. It was actually kind of nice to get to play and tie up her hair. She never really bothered with it now and she definitely did not expect the sudden compliment tossed in her direction. For a moment, Acacia thought she misheard and froze in a jolt.

"Huh?" The compliment was seasoned with truthful insult, but even then, it still served to make her stunned. Her cheeks reddened and she opened her mouth to speak, finding herself short on words. The hell? She was Acacia Romans. She's never flustered. But it had really came unexpected. Acacia could only scowl and glare weakly in retaliation, but it was rendered harmless with her blush.

"Oh... uh, lettuce wraps are fine. Just don't add celery in them," she wrinkled her nose, following Tyler out of the bedroom, taking his laptop along with her. Instead of entering the kitchen with him, Acacia sat herself down in the living room besides the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets for the cable to connect his laptop to the flat screen television hanging on his wall. She asked him casually where he's placed it with plans to load the movie as he's cooking.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Did Acacia Romans just blush??

Well technically Tyler Bay blushed but you get what he meant.

Had he actually been able to make the mighty and powerful Acacia, who was never fazed by anything, blush at his compliment? Which wasn't even a full compliment it was a compliment insult combo.

'Well this is very flattering.' Tyler thought to himself with a smile as they went downstairs, and as his back was to her she couldn't see him smirking, gaining a boost of confidence at his little victory. It's safe to say he was no longer afraid of Mad Dog.

"It's in the console under the TV." He said a little loudly from the kitchen as he started getting out the things he needed, soaking the lettuce before getting out the chicken. "Play some music, will you? It's too quiet in here." Tyler called out loudly, hoping she heard him over the sound of running water.

 

[mon]

"On it," Acacia replied, seeming more of a normal girl than whatever rumors had made her out to be. Once the laptop was connected to the screen, she went to work, downloading the Freddy Kreuger movie. As it downloaded, she blasted music from the living room, having to tone it down two notches below her usual volume thanks to Tyler's complaints. (He had all the rights to complain. Acacia was pretty sure his neighbors would not appreciate all the noise.)

She played one of the many playlists on her Spotify account, wasting most of her time on her phone until one particular song played up, to which the ravenhead got up and began twirling around into the kitchen, swaying to the jazzy beat of the melody. The remote was held in her hands like a microphone as she sang along, her phone left abandoned on the couch. Given her attention span, she got bored quickly, hence the spontaneous karaoke in the kitchen.

"Johnny, don't leave me," she hummed, walking straight into his space when the boy was cooking, "You said you'd love me forever~" Acacia sang, finding it no pleasant surprise that Tyler's smooth baritone voice matched well with the song. She knew he had a rather nice voice, even more so when he sang.

"Honey, believe me. I'd have your heart on a platter," Acacia picked up a plate, swinging it in her palm before setting it back on the counter. Her singing and occasional dancing was a clear disturbance in the kitchen. But on the bright side, it was rather entertaining. The lyrics were oddly fitting despite the dark implications.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler was more focused on the cooking after having just told Acacia to lower the volume. Her music taste was nicer than he thought. Not exactly his cup of tea but he definitely appreciated it.

Then one song stuck with him and he caught himself absent-mindedly humming along to it. He couldn't recall when he listened to it but somehow the lyrics came easily to his mind. "They'll bust your kneecaps. Ooh, wop de do, wop de do." He sang quietly to himself then turned when he heard Acacia walking in, dancing around and making him look funny. His voice was a good match to this song, and after an experimental verse he found out that so was hers.

At first she was a little distracting and she got into his space a lot. But finally he gave up on trying to fight her.

'If you can't beat them.'

"Johnny there's still time." He sang as he put the wooden spoon on the plate she just placed on the countertop, then grabbed her hand, which she had left extended while dancing, before pulling himself closer to her and wrapping his arm around her waist. "Together I know, we'd go so far." He kept an eye out for the pan on the stove, but took a moment to note how odd they must seem to the outsider, especially as he was holding her like how the male dance partner would hold the female.

 

[mon]

Her eyes widened both in surprise and glee when Tyler began singing along instead of telling her to buzz off like she had expected him to. "You know this song?" she asked, taken off guard when he had pulled her over. It was almost humorous how fitting it looked---Acacia taking the lead when in actuality it was vice-versa.

The surprise translated only momentarily, just long enough for Tyler to catch it, before Acacia laughed and spun out of his arms, taking a bow as the song came to a slow bridge. "They'd bust your kneecaps. Ooh~" She hummed, coming behind him to nudge the back of his knees: a little grade-schooler trick which forces the other person to bend and stumble on reflex. She winked cheekily at him, "Bust your knee caps."

As the song came to a slow end, Acacia had danced herself to one of the seats at the kitchen counter. Her hands folded underneath her chin as she watched Tyler cooked the rest of his meal.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler grinned at her surprise at both him knowing the song and dancing with her. He only nodded and sang along to the parts he knew with her, then watched her as she spun out of his arms and came to stand behind him before suddenly he had lost his footing and was leaning against her to support Acacia's weight.

'You cheeky little... '

He let the thought trail off as the song ended and she went to sit down while the next song played and he went back to working on the sauce.

"Hope you like Chinese." He said as he delicately placed the lettuce wraps on two plates and set them on trays then held it out to Acacia. "Take these to the living room while I grab something to drink." He told her.

 

[mon]

To say the food smelled great would be an understatement of the century. She was starving. Acacia hadn't realized how hungry she was after forgoing lunch and the impromptu volleyball match. "As long as there's no celery," she replied in reminder, taking the tray over to the living room where the movie had fully loaded.

She was practically bouncing in her seat, waiting for Tyler to get over before she dug into the food (The ravenhead still had some semblance of manners. She figured she could save him some face, given how he was kind enough to cook both their portions.)

"Ready to piss your pants?" Acacia asked as she took the remote, pausing her music to open up the movie link.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler returned with two cokes and was surprised to see that Acacia hadn't eaten yet when she looked so hungry when he handed her the plates. He was sure he'd come to find her already done with half her plate, but he found both their plates untouched.

He sat down and handed her her drink then picked up his plate and set it on his lap, catching himself before he retorted with 'Don't you mean your pants?' because he was actually wearing his sweatpants, which were a little too big on Acacia.

"Just hope this thing doesn't have too many jump scares." He said as he shifted to get comfortable, leaning back a little and opening his can as the opening credits started.

 

[mon]

"Oh fuck, you're right," Acacia remembered, smacking herself on the forehead. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him, "In that case... don't you dare piss yourself, Bay!" She jabbed a finger in his direction before turning her attention to the food at hand. She wolfed it down to say the least, a delighted explanation squeezed from pressed lips as she took the first bite.

"This is delicious!" she told him, unsure if it's because of his skills or because hunger made practically anything taste good. Regardless of which, she was grateful for the food and did her best to savor it throughout the movie. "Callum could take lessons from you," Acacia mused, sinking into the couch besides him. It was as high of a compliment as she could give.

Acacia had watched the movie multiple times before so she knew when the jump scares would come in. On the first scare, Acacia decided to pull a little prank and grabbed Tyler by the arm just as Freddy popped up at the screen.

"Boo," she said smug in his ear.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler smirked at the emtpy threat and the smirk turned into a smug smile at the compliment as he took a bite from his food and savoured the flavors. Damn he was good.

But soon what was left of his plate was left untouched as he focused on the movie, shrinking back in his seat more and more.

"Boo,"

Tyler screamed like a little girl as his whole body trashed in shock, but in his defense he was a little girl. "You little piece of shit." He spat out the insult as his heartbeat slowed ever so slightly to return back to the normal pace. "I hate you." He added, basically panting.

 

[mon]

Tyler's reaction did not disappoint.

Although, Acacia did wish he was in his body when it happened and not her own. She wasn't sure how to feel about seeing herself so pissed scared but knowing it was Tyler made up for it.

Her smile was slow and beaming and her laughter came in bubbles before erupting into full-blown, stomach-clenching guffaws. Hell, she nearly fell off the couch laughing, wheezing as the movie played on in the background. She was hardly paying attention to that now, more focused on the fact that her voice could reach such a high-pitch note.

"Thank you," she batted her eyelashes at him. It probably didn't have the same affect given how she was in Tyler's body. "Love you too," she smirked, crisscrossing her legs on the couch. Her empty plate was set aside as she reached for her soda can. Maybe it was karma or maybe it was an unfortunate accident but for some strange reason, Acacia's can had been shaken up so that the moment she opened it, the drink fizzed over, spraying her full in her face and chest.

"FuKashd--" she cursed in balderdash, words slurring in an gibberish phrase as she stood up. The drink dripped down her shirt to her pants---er, well Tyler's clothes.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler pouted. Actually pouted and crossed his arms as he sulked while she laughed. That was just one cruel joke.

Then sweet karma made a comeback and it was his turn to laugh at her soaking wet expression. Some of the drink got on the carpet but it was worth it seeing that reaction. "Pause the movie. Let's get you changed before any more damage is done." Tyler said as he got up, "And you were worried I was going to ruin your clothes." He teased.

He went back to his room and grabbed a pair of shorts, a t shirt, and a tie to cover her eyes. Sure, he wasn't body shy, but that didn't mean he didn't want to avoid her seeing him.

 

[mon]

Acacia scowled, wondering how in the world something could happen at such a timely manner. She narrowed her eyes, glaring suspiciously at Tyler but she knew he had been too engrossed in the movie to play such a devious trick. If he really had set her up well... Acacia had her ways of paying people back. Maybe Lady Luck happened to favor the boy.

"You didn't happen to shake my can when I wasn't looking did you?" she asked, just to be sure. Before Tyler even left to get her a new change of shorts and pants, she had already peeled his shirt off of her, not liking the sticky feeling on her skin.

"Oh--oops, right," she chuckled nervously, already breaking rule one. It was a good thing she hadn't taken her pants off yet. "I'll go change in there." Making a grab for the clothes given, Acacia excused herself to the bathroom where she changed. She didn't bother with blindfolding herself with the tie, choosing instead to just look away.

Curious and daredevil as she may be, Acacia still had some self-respect and would not totally lower herself to uncalled for sexual harassment. She came out of the bathroom with a frown. "I'm still sticky."

 

[PlotBrownie]

"You and I both know I didn't touch that can, Romans."

Tyler waited for her outside the bathroom till she emerged and somehow he knew she'd respect their rule. After all she was the one who came up with it in the first place.

After her complaint he ducked back into the bathroom and grabbed a towel, putting it under the shirt to wet it slightly then wringing it out and turning to Acacia. "You can take off the shirt. It doesn't count for me." He told her with a shrug as he handed her the towel to wipe his upper body down.

 

[mon]

"Just checking," Acacia said, before she accepted the towel. She had an odd look on her face when Tyler allowed her to go topless. Although she knew it was perfectly acceptable for a guy to do so, it was still something she was unused to. Not to say that she was shy given how she was in a boy's body, but what if she were to get too used to it and wanted to do it when she swapped back to her own body? That would majorly suck. But then again, these were just baseless thoughts rolling around off the top of her head.

"Uhhh, no it's fine," she frowned, accepting the towel. Instead of stripping down, Acacia chose to wipe her body down instead without taking off her shirt. The towel was then rinsed and wrung out before a sudden question came to mind. "Hey, um, are we not going to bathe at all?" she asked, not yet knowing that they would body swap back the very next morning. For all she knew now, this could last awhile or even... and she prayed it aint so, a lifetime.