Fantasy Two Halves of a Whole

[mon]

Acacia woke to the sound of her alarm. But wait, since when did her alarm play music instead of loud blaring horn noises? She stirred just enough to feel around for the source, finding a phone which she answered blearily instead.

"Acacia's not in right now..." She yawned, voice muffled by the pillow beneath her, "Please call again la...ter..." Her voice drifted off as she fell back asleep, not yet realizing she had body swapped back with Tyler. That would explain why the bed was so comfortable. The soft, clean scent was alluring.

She slept through the next two calls and nearly threw the phone across the room at the third call. "Will you shut up already!" she shouted, realizing that this wasn't her voice a tad too late. The phone sailed across the room, hitting straight into the laundry basket near the closet.

"Oh fuck," she cursed, scrambling out of bed because that was Tyler's phone and not her own. She sighed in relief, seeing that fortunately, nothing had happened to it. It was un-cracked and still worked fine. "Who is this? Tyler?" she asked, seeing her number on the screen. What time was it anyways?

Her hand dug under her shirt to scratch her belly as her voice answered back through the receiver. It was really weird to hear herself through a device. Unsettling even. She frowned when she saw they had swapped back, and yet unlike the first day, she was completely alarmed or upset. A small part of her was happy in fact. It gave the two a legitimate excuse to hang out again.

"Looks like we swapped again huh? Damn, what are we going to do?" Acacia asked, moving around to get dressed. If she was in her own body, she would've lazed in bed for a bit longer but knowing Tyler and his "perfect attendance record", she doubt he'd appreciate if she made him late two times in a row. Not to mention, Tyler lived a drive away from school. She really should get a move on and quickly hopped around to get change. Her morning routine was completed in a half-assed whirlwind.

"Do you know the way to school? Need me to come pick you up?" she asked, grinning as she found Tyler's car keys on the table counter. Hooking it around her finger, she hummed excitedly to herself at the newfound freedom of driving to school.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Finally on the third try she picked up. The moment he heard his voice, which was very weird might he add, he set the brush down and grabbed the phone, turning off the speaker and hoping Callum wasn't near. "Yes, it's me." He answered as he got up and started throwing random things like hair ties and a water bottle into her backpack in case he needed them, but he wasn't sure what girls needed and if it was any different than boys. "Yup." He popped the P at her statement and noticed how she sounded pretty calm. He wasn't sure why he was nervous since they'd already done this, but it was a bunch of little things like not knowing where things he needed were and not knowing how to go to school while Acacia could mess up things from her end stressed him out.

"Yes please." He said after a moment of hesitation when she offered him a ride. "But, Cia, please be careful with my car. She's my baby." Tyler said a little dramatically, but it was true. His Porsche was a gift from his parents and he loved it like any boy would love a car.

 

[mon]

"Hm," Acacia said thoughtfully over the phone, "I'll try," she promised that much at least. "Oh and Ty, bring my skateboard down, yeah?" she said, before hanging up to pick Tyler up. The ravenhead had to use his phone's gps system to navigate over but given the short distance, it wasn't long until she was in front of her school's dormitory.

"Hop in," she said, rolling the window down with something that looked like a lollipop sticking out from her mouth. She had found a box of chupa chups in Tyler's kitchen drawer. Instead of having a decent breakfast meal, Acacia had opted for candy and coffee in the morning instead.

"You might want to hurry. I don't care much for attendance but you seem to," she pointed out, using the lollipop to emphasize her point as it jabbed in his direction.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler was already waiting outside with the skateboard tucked under his arm. He was busy checking his car for any dents when Acacia told him to get in and reminded him of his attendance so he complied, sitting in the passenger seat and placing the board on the ground of the backseat.

They were already moving before he had a chance to wear his seatbelt but when he glanced at her he noticed that she wasn't using it.

"You know," He said as he reached under her arm, or his arm to be specific, and grabbed the belt buckle, tugging at it till it was safely around her, "You could have told me to get you some breakfast as well. I had time." He told her as he gestured at the lollipop. It wasn't because he was concerned about his body but rather concerned about her eating habits all together. He noticed this morning before he had to close his eyes that her jeans were pretty small.

 

[mon]

Seeing herself suddenly reach over surprised her, but Acacia knew better than to take her eyes off the road, especially when she was driving so quickly. She relaxed when she saw that he was merely going to buckle the seatbelt she neglected and only pulled to a stop once they reached the school.

"Huh, it's alright," Acacia said, with a light shrug. She wasn't a heavy eater and when she was it was usually junk food. Her diet was poor to say the least, more so because she was living alone. "I had coffee," the babe added with a wink, as though caffeine made up for everything. (It did.)

"By the way, I need to get presents for my sister's birthday after school. You don't mind me running some errands in your body do you?" she asked, just to be certain.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Coffee is not food." Tyler said with an eyeroll, already planning on finding her during lunch to make sure she eats something. He didn't know why it bothered him so much but now it'll be a tick that won't go away till he scratched it.

He got out of the car and grabbed their backpacks from the backseat, leaving the skateboard as he couldn't walk around with it the whole day and Acacia won't need it till school ends anyway. "That's fine. Actually do you want me to come with you? I don't have anything important to do today." He had actually planned on doing more research or try to write things down in case a pattern appears, but he'd rather keep Acacia company and maybe learn a little bit more about her.

 

[mon]

Acacia shrugged but inside she could appreciate the company.

"Sure," she said at first, but then was reminded of his friends. She arched a brow at him as they walked towards their classes, "Won't your friends be bugged by it though? They aren't afraid I'm going to eat you or something?" she smirked, arching her fingers like claws towards him in a tease. She wasn't sure what exactly his friends had told him yesterday but she was sure it was something along those lines.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Well you already had your taste and I told them you thought I was too sweet." He said with a smirk as he reached out and touched the ear she bit gently, teasing her back. He knew she had a point but he didn't really care, he could go out with a girl if he wanted to and his friends should leave him. Even if they were only looking out for him.

"I'll meet you at the car after school, okay? Try not to get into too much trouble till then." He added with another smile, knowing she wouldn't do anything because he could tell she respected his body. He oddly trusted her. Just a little.

 

[mon]

She had half-expected him to reconsider, especially since she's seen how close his friends are to him firsthand (when she was in his body the first day). His answer surprised her, leaving her to blink up at him and blush suddenly when he tugged on her ear. She almost forgotten she's done that to him and pulled back immediately when he touched her, hiding her blush with the back of her hand.

"Cocky thing. Don't you know I have a sweet tooth?" she retorted weakly before tossing the finished lollipop stick into a nearby trashcan. "But fine, suit yourself! I'll see you later," she grinned, unable to help from returning one of his---or well, her, smile.

"Hey," she thought casually to herself as she watched Tyler head into his classroom, "I don't look too bad when I smile."

Though it really wasn't her smile she was referring to.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler blushed slightly at her retort, but masked it with a careless expression that didn't look too different from Acacia's.

During class he got weird looks from the teachers and it took him four periods to realize it was because he was taking notes and paying attention especially that Acacia was taking some classes he wasn't that good in. He tried to be more subtle afterwards.

After school Tyler passed by the cafeteria and grabbed two bags of chips and two RedBulls then went to his car, hoping to find Acacia there.

 

[mon]

Classes came and gone in a blink of an eye. Acacia had intended to find Tyler during lunchtime but his friends had whisked her away before she could even protest. This time, they were insistent that she had lunch with them and so she did, learning more about Tyler through his friends. She was almost envious at how close they seem to be and how much the boys cared for the brunet. That did not stop her from playing petty pranks on them however, to get them back for the Mad Dog insult.

(Simple pranks like tying their shoe laces to their chair leg. Shaking up their soda can when they weren't looking. Petty ways of getting revenge really.)

When school ended, Acacia said bye to them and went to find Tyler. "No practice today?" she asked him, raising a brow when she saw the chips and Redbulls in his hands.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler was leaning against the car, his phone in hand and the other hand in his pocket as he frowned at the screen. They'd switched phones this morning and decided not to get them out in front of people.

"Explain to me why Liam and Nathan are talking about making a petition to exorcise our lunch table?" He asked her as he held the phone to her, showing her a chat group. While he had classes Liam and Nathan had free periods and spent it texting as they had went home. From what he gathered something had happened that made them think the table was haunted and misplaced spoons and tied shoelaces were the evidence.

 

[mon]

Acacia smirked, looking quite pleased with herself. "Who knows? Remember rule number 4?" She fished Tyler's car keys out from her pockets and twirled it around on her finger. "If they're going to call me a Mad Dog, I might as well live up to it," she sighed dramatically with a shrug.

"Anyways, the place I want to go is not too far from here. You wanna walk there instead? I can teach you how to skateboard if you like," she grinned, eyes twinkling in a way that Tyler's had never. It was a trait strictly Acacia, filled with mischief and childlike playfulness.

(Sorry it's a short post ;; )

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler couldn't help grinning even though he shouldn't have since these were his friends. But as long as they didn't suspect anything who was he to deny Acacia the joys of revenge? He was sort of pleased too, he didn't like the way they talked about her yesterday.

"Sure. That would come in handy actually." He pointed out as he took the keys to unlock the car and get the skateboard out. "Also I got us snacks because I wasn't sure if you ate or not and I skipped lunch." He told her as he handed her the chips and redbull to better hold the skateboard. He skipped telling her that the reason was because he didn't even know where she sat or who she sat with since he barely sees her at lunch most days.

(It's okay mine is too.)

 

[mon]

"For me? You shouldn't have," Acacia mused, already suspecting so when she saw the doubles in his hands. She noted that he was quite a gentleman. Even on the first day of their body swap, he had always been generous in giving her a portion of whatever he had. It made her feel... oddly doted on. Which was an even weirder sensation because this often happened when Tyler was in her body.

"You should eat though. I normally eat alone if that's what you're wondering," Acacia pointed out nonchalantly. She had her lunch not in the cafeteria or at the tables but behind the school bleachers, in the shade of the red bricked walls surrounding the school. It was a quiet place there. Very peaceful. Perfect for someone who was ostracize really.

"But thanks," she grinned, taking the board to set it on the ground. She gave him a quick demo (cough, show off) of how he should get on and how to balance himself. In the process of which, she also got ahead of herself and showed the boy a few tricks. She failed the first two rounds because of their bodies' difference in size and weight, but she managed to nail it on the third try with a satisfied smirk.

"Here, you try," she said, finally getting off the board so Tyler could have a go. As they chatted and skated (or attempted to), they were slowly moving towards the town square where the general supermarket was located.

Little did the two know, Acacia had been seen doing skateboard tricks in Tyler's body, leading to those who witness to stared wide-eyed in surprise.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Oh. Okay then." Tyler said with a slight shrug as he put his chips away and opened the can, drinking it as Acacia demonstrated how to skate.

Skating was hard. And by the looks of it Tyler knew that even if he managed to get the hang of it it'll be difficult to do it in his body. For the first part when he was on the skateboard he gripped Acacia's elbows to stay balanced and didn't attempt the tricks after failing at the first one.

Thankfully he didn't fall.

They finally reached the town square and Tyler had even managed to skate an entire block leading to it, then he stepped off and pressed on a certain point like she taught him to elevate the skateboard and pick it up.

 

[mon]

After a few rounds of skating, Acacia had to jog to keep up with Tyler since he was no longer skating at a snail's pace. "You know," she started, "I'm really starting to reconsider letting you learn how to skate now." She said, pointing at their bodies. Since he was in hers, it was odd how someone who skated almost daily to school to suddenly flail around like a beginner, "If people saw me, they'd think I'm an amateur!" she groaned in mock woe, throwing her hand on her forehead for dramatic emphasis.

"Anyways, let's drop by the flower shop. Sis loves tulips so tulips, she'll get," Acacia stated, dragging Tyler into the flower shop beside the town's bakery. The store was chilled at a temperature to keep the flowers fresh. She went through the aisles until she found what she was looking for. "Aha! Tulips," Acacia hummed, pulling out a few pink ones. Then she stopped and stared at the rest for a bit, tilting her head in thought.

"Hm, should I spare her the passive aggressiveness this year? What do you think, Ty?" Acacia asked, correcting herself, "Or should I say, Cia. What do I think? Maybe I should get her some white ones as well?" She went quiet as she stared at the white flowers in deep thought. "Actually, I'll get her one white tulip," Acacia decided in the end. She stayed clear from the other shades.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler was on a mission to sniff every flower in the aisle while giving quick glances to Acacia to make sure she's still there. Eventually while wandering around he found a poster talking all about flower languages and which meant what. "Dandelions seem like a nice thought." He pointed out to her as he started searching for the flower but stumbled on a flowet crown section.

With a smirk, Tyler picked the pinkest one and placed it on his head, turning to look at his reflection in the mirror before going over to Acacia. "I think this is a good look on you." He said gesturing to the crown.

 

[mon]

"What do they mean?" Acacia asked out from where she was. With the bundle of tulips in her arms, she went over to the cash register to pay, passing by her body in a flower crown. She blinked once, surprised.

"Uh," was all she said, like a deer in headlights. Despite the proud and vain display of confidence she puts up, the babe was not really good at receiving compliments, especially from herself (lol). "I guess so?" When was the last time she wore anything girly or cute? Though she looked good in things like that, it was a waste that she never bothered.

She smirked a tad late and rolled her eyes. "Don't I look good in practically anything?" she said in recovery. The tulips were dumped over the counter and paid for. The florist had helped her arrange the tulips into a pretty black bouquet, setting the white tulip in the center to send a message.

White tulips, like most white flowers, were often used to symbolize purity and innocence, but there was another meaning to them as well: forgiveness. Of course, this extra detail was easily overlooked by most people who would care less about the language of flowers, but not the Romans' family. Acacia knew most of their meanings by heart, not because she was named after a flora herself but because her elder sister Leianna had been interested in trivialities. When they were younger and close as sisters would be, she used to teach Acacia such meanings and Acacia had committed them to heart.

Though, things were different now.

They've grown apart more or less. And Acacia had been bearing a long-lasting grudge against most, if not all, of her family members. It was a messy situation, and dragging Tyler into the whirlwind of it all was something she wanted to avoid. Hopefully, by sending Leianna a gift, she would not be forced or expected to attend her sister's party.

"Okay, flowers done. Chocolates are next," Acacia said.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Something about love and respect. I dunno it looks pretty." Tyler said with a shrug as he set the crown down. He smiled at Acacia's confident retort, and thought about agreeing which would surely get her flustered because she wasn't the best at accepting compliments despite trying to hide that. He didn't however, because she already looked preoccupied. He held the flowers for her as they headed for a candy shop that looked like it had very fancy, expensive chocolates. "What's your opinion on mint chocolate? Because personally I think like it's a capital offense to whoever invented chocolate." Tyler pointed out just to start a conversation.

 

[mon]

"You want me to buy that for you?" Acacia smirked, of course, she meant for his own body. Not hers. She would never wear a flower crown if not for Tyler. The tease was left forgotten as they moved to the next shop. The smell of warm cocoa and sugar sweets was an assault to her palette. Acacia was practically drooling when she entered.

"I like them," Acacia replied, turning to him in disbelief at his later comment. "I'm going to pretend I did not just hear that," she snorted, picking out three bars of rich 100% chocolate. She could've gotten them at the supermarket next door, but Acacia was lazy (even if it meant just walking a few additional steps). She didn't bother getting the smaller, cuter chocolates as she intended to melt the bars down to begin with.

"Hey, doesn't this look like I'm buying gifts for my girlfriend or something?" Acacia mused, pointing at Tyler's body---herself. She snorted in a laugh. "You want anything, by the way? The chocolates here are amazing."

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Accepting chocolate from a mint chocolate lover would be like accepting food from someone who doesn't have tastebuds." Tyler said as he shook his head and gave her quite the dramatic look of disapproval.

"And does that make me your girlfriend to the bystander?" He asked as he looked down at the flowers. It was true that if someone saw them they'd think Tyler (Who is actually Acacia) got the flowers for Acacia (Tyler). "I'm pretty sure Acacia Romans wouldn't care for those gifts as other girls would. When your birthday comes along I'm getting you a leather jacket or a new skateboard. Heck maybe even a cute lighter. Something that's more.. You." Tyler thought to himself, indicating that they'll be friends long enough to give eachother birthday presents. It was hard to believe that these two hadn't formally met till three days ago.

 

[mon]

Acacia stuck her tongue out childishly in retort. "Your loss," she said, buying him a small box of chocolate anyways. It was the least she could do as a small token of thanks for putting up with her. She bought a box of mint chocolates for herself as well.

"I guess so," she reasoned in thought, "Though normal couples aren't usually in each other's bodies." She made a funny face and then looked him dead in the eye, brows raised, "Not like this anyways," she said with a laughing grin.

She went and purchased the chocolates as Tyler rambled on. He wasn't entirely wrong. She had no use for flowers and she preferred cheap candy over chocolates any day, but the thought of Tyler getting her a gift was an odd one. It wiped the smile from her face completely. "You don't have to," she said to him, as nonchalantly as she could.

It wasn't like she hated the idea of being friends with the boy. She just didn't want to give herself any false hope that he would actually follow through with what he said. She's seen people turn on her since her freshman year of high school. Acacia did not need a repeat of that, hence why she was fine with being on her own. At least this way, she had no friends to backstab her.

The chocolates were bought, checking off the final thing on Acacia's list. Outside, the sun was beginning to set. "You wanna grab dinner before we head back? There's a Mcdonald's just across the street from here. On me this time since you covered dinner last time we swapped," she offered.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Oh my God, Cia, there are innocent ears around." Tyler said with a blush but he couldn't help grinning. There was actually one boy but he was an aisle away and not paying any attention to them so they were safe. "And I want to. Maybe I should get you a book filled with filthy jokes. You're gonna like that, won't you?" Tyler asked her as they resumed walking, pretending like he hadn't noticed her hesitation. He was a boy on a mission now and it's to be friends with Acacia Romans. Especially if the whole body swap issue doesn't end soon.

"Well I never say no to free food so let's go." He replied to her offer, though it wasn't about the food as it was about hanging out. Even if they went their separate ways now they were still in eachother's bodies and it was easier sticking together in these situations. "Should we go to out own homes, tonight? I have a feeling we'll be back to normal tomorrow. This could be a pattern." He suggested.

 

[mon]

"I'd probably have written half of what's in there then," Acacia laughed as she elbowed him lightly in the rib.

"I actually need to get something at my dorm so I think I'd crash at your place---er, well my place this time. It's also so much closer to the school," Acacia answered. There were also a few things she'd have to hide if Tyler was going to stay in her room. Mostly her dirty laundry which she definitely left hanging around.

While Callum was there every morning to act as her human alarm clock and occasional cook, he only cleaned her room when she asked him to. Acacia was a rather private person who liked her messes where she left them. Plus, it gave her some sense of being a normal girl instead of some spoiled rich kid living the high life.

When they walked into McDonald's, Acacia heard someone shout Tyler's name. Of course, she had forgotten that she had body swapped and did not respond immediately. It was only after the third call did she looked over, seeing Liam and Nathan there. It looked like they were having dinner as well and they were giving her pointed looks which Acacia assumed meant, 'What the hell are you doing?'

She smiled smug at them and gestured to the flowers in Tyler's---or well, her own, hands. That was one way to really mislead his friends. Their shocked, pale faces were awfully amusing.