‹ Prequel: Let Me Perfect It

Right Back Where We Started

They Switched Bodies.

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Chloe's POV

can you come to the bus ASAP please? and grab any of the girls if you run into them on the way.

hey, guys, come to the bus! we have a bit of a… situation

As my brain slowly comprehended Sophie’s announcement, I sent out a few quick texts. One just to Brendon and the other to the rest of the girls. I could feel in my bones this was going to be a big issue.

“I'm telling Brendon what's going on.” I said plainly to Sophie, who instantly started shaking her head. “Austin is.. three days from now. I'm not letting you get like… kidnapped or something, Sophie.”

“We don't need to tell the world about my shitty childhood,” Sophie grumbled. “I doubt they'll even show.”

I took a deep breath. “I'm telling Brendon, at least, because I've got a really bad feeling, Sophie. Who else knows anything about them? William?” At this point I stood up, running fingers through the mess of my hair to straighten it out at least a bit.

Sophie was getting tense. “He… does. He does. But we don't need to get him involved. Seriously, Chloe, I'll be fine.”

“I still feel like you should call him. We'll have a… meeting. I guess. Just so we can keep an eye on you.”

“Chloe, I really think you're looking too deep into this. I'll be okay.”

I put a hand on Sophie’s arm. “Looking too much into it?” I was incredulous. She wasn't looking enough into it. I tugged on her arm slightly so she was looking me in the eye. “These are people you literally have not seen in twenty years.”

Before I could continue, there were two quick knocks on the door. Neither Sophie or I could move to open it before the door swung open and Brendon walked inside. He was followed pretty closely by Angie. “What's going on? I got a text from you and before I even read it Brendon was dragging me away in the middle of my movie!”

Brendon chuckled. “I'm sure Spencer won’t just finish it without you.” The teasing tone in his voice implied that we had… interrupted our bassist’s morning off. His attention, though, quickly turned to me. “Are you okay?”

For a moment my gaze couldn't meet his eyes. My trepidation at my own situation faded out as my brain jumped back to Sophie. “I'm… okay. We're just having a bit of a situation.”

“It's really not a big deal!” Sophie interjected.

I turned and glared at her, doing my best to turn her award-winning scowl around on herself. “I don't know why you aren't taking this seriously!” I snapped. My jaw was tense and I could feel myself getting mad. I turned back to my boyfriend before I continued talking. “I don't have Williams number. Will you text him and tell him to meet us over here? We really need help.”

He looked confused, but sensing my frustration, pulled his phone from his pocket. Angie, at this point, took a seat on the couch. “Can you please just tell us what's going on instead of barking commands at us?” She laughed.

I ignored the comment, despite wanting to snap at Angie, too. “Sophie, do you want me to tell Alex? He's around a lot.”

“Oh god, no!” Sophie responded, aghast. “We're still friends, but I don't know how much I trust him after… everything.” She pursed her lips, looking pointedly between myself and Brendon.

“Fine by me,” I nodded. “I don’t want to get… too into what's going on right now while people still aren't here, I'd rather not repeat everything to every single person. But Brendon, I need to fill you in on some shit.” I beckoned for him to sit at the small dining table with me.

“Are you feeling okay?” He asked, looking me over quickly. “Were… were you crying?”

I rubbed the side of my hand under my eye to find there was quite a bit of eyeliner smudged in the area. I had just been pretty upset, hadn't I? What must have been fifteen minutes felt like hours as my mind wrapped around the idea of Sophie's mother calling. “I just really wasn't feeling well.” Great, now I'm lying to my boyfriend. Totally healthy.

The concern on Brendon’s face did not go unnoticed. “Is your stomach getting worse?” He reached towards me across the table and I tucked my hand into his.

“I'm okay. That isn't important right now, though.” The emphasis in my sentence made me sound angry, again. “Sophie's mother just called her.”

“Her.. mom?” Brendon looked towards Sophie, who was in conversation with Angie. I heard her say something about Austin before I continued.

“Barely. She hasn't seen or spoken to her parents since she was literally seven. They built up a big story about,” I paused, taking a deep breath. It wasn't often I had to explain Sophie’s story. My voice caught in my throat as I started again. “They told her she was going to a god-damned boarding school! And then… poof.”

I could feel tears forming in my eyes again. How could someone just… abandon their kid? Not even a baby. An actual child. A second grader.

“Honestly,” Sophie butt in, sensing I was on the verge of another emotional overflow, “I was probably better off for it. I'd say they missed out on a lot more than I did!” She let out a laugh that sounded just a little forced.

---

Only about thirty minutes passed before the rest of the girls and, finally, William, were crowded into our small bus.

“Chloe,” Sophie got my attention as I was trying to gather my thoughts, “I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this. Really, honestly, it's probably nothing.”

“I don't understand how you're not getting how big of a deal this actually is!” I snapped. My volume was enough to get everyone's attention and Sophie was the only one who didn't look shocked.

“Holy shit,” I heard William say quietly from next to Brendon. “This is… some Freaky Friday shit. They switched bodies. I've never seen Chloe get… mad.”

I ignored him, my attention still completely on Sophie. “Your parents fucking abandoned you. We all know that. It's more than a little concerning that now, after twenty god-damn years, they'll just crawl their sleazy bodies out of the woodwork to find you. You have to know as well as I do that they're not just going to show up in Austin to pat you on the back and make up for two decades of parenting they decided to just fucking opt out of.”

Sophie just blinked. I could see on her face that she was slowly taking in the gravity of the situation, but Molly spoke before she could.

“Your parents? In Austin?”

“She… she said they got backstage somehow,” Sophie finally stammered, taking a few steps back to lean against the wall. “I know it was her. I don't… know how.”

“That's not even a week away,” Brendon spoke next, standing from the dining seat. “We're going to be in Texas… tomorrow?” He took a step towards me and wrapped an arm around my hip.

My boyfriend pulled me closer. I know he sensed my frustration was to the brim and he wasn't wrong. “We can't leave Sophie on her own,” I spoke again, looking between all of the faces within the bus. “Especially once we're in Austin. We need to be… bodyguards, I guess. Against these crazies or any flying monkeys they send for her.”

Sophie chuckled. “It's my mother, not a wicked witch. Maybe I should just meet up with them and get it over with. Rip the band-aid off or whatever. I think I can handle myself with them.”

“I don't doubt even for a second that you can handle yourself. But I'm not discounting any ulterior motives they have for this outreach and I'm not giving them a chance to try anything. The longer we can avoid them, the better. I just want us to get through Austin unscathed.”

---

I'd been so focused on Sophie, the problems I was having earlier in the day fell to the wayside. I was getting ready to take a shower since we'd just finished our set, which fell pretty late. My phone vibrated against the edge of the sink to notify me of a text message from Josie. The list of recipients was long and there were as many numbers I did not recognize as those that I did.

busses don't leave till the a.m and it's alexs birthday! get ready to get wasted tonight ;D

---

“I'm sorry I kept yelling at you earlier, Sophie. The whole situation with your parents just has me a little freaked out.”

“You were just trying to talk sense into my stupid ass,” Sophie grinned before she took another long swig of her drink. Her speech was already slower and I could tell whatever she was drinking was already taking effect. “Besides, girl, you were absolutely fierce. I don't know that I've had the honor of meeting this mama bear side of Chloe before but I like her already!”

I was about to respond when I noticed Brendon approaching from behind Sophie. “Vodka and cranberry,” he grinned, holding the red drink in my direction.

“Brendon!” Sophie snapped, her eyes wide. Before I could even move, she snatched the glass from his hand. “What are you thinking?”

His brows furrowed. “I was thinking I would get my girlfriend a drink?”

“You should know better! Chloe can't drink this!

Fuck. Sophie, please get un-drunk. Bring yourself back from the cliff you're about to dive off. My eyes widened as I attempted to telepathically scream at my best friend.

“What are you talking about?” Brendon questioned, his expression showing both amusement and just basic confusion. “This is what she usually drinks?”

“I really shouldn't.” I finally choked out before Sophie could open her mouth. “I'm still not sure what's going on with my stomach. I've felt okay today but the last thing I want is to bring that back.” I sighed as I ended the statement.

I hate lying. The last thing I need right now is any sort of betrayed trust. But the words kept coming out so easily. The truth of the situation felt just as bad in this case. Maybe worse.

“I'm sure Sophie can handle one extra drink. I'm just gonna get some water, so I'll be right back. Thank you for thinking of me, love.” I smiled softly as I kissed Brendon's cheek.

As I moved to walk away from him, I nudged Sophie with my elbow. Luckily she got the hint to follow. “Can you please not drunkenly let this particular cat out of this particular bag?” I hissed once I knew Brendon was well out of earshot. “You are literally the only person who knows and I want to keep it that way for now, okay?”

Sophie nodded solemnly, but her face broke into a grin when she looked at her hands. She held two mostly-full drinks and I know she'd already had at least a few. She seemed to take in the size of each drink before pulling the vodka cranberry closer to her lips. “I'm sorry,” she finally pouted. “It just feels like exciting news, especially now that I'm… not quite clear headed. But my lips are sealed. I promise.”

“Thank you,” I finally sighed as we reached the bar. I requested just an ice water and turned back to Sophie. “I do just want to hang out with Brendon for a while so will you be okay?”

“Take a deep breath, mama bear,” Sophie grinned despite my cringe at the nickname. “I'll go find the other girls or… someone.” Of course I knew who that someone was, but I felt like I needed to let Sophie have this one without calling out her inconsistency. I still wasn't entirely sure where she stood with William but I knew that was her problem to solve. “Go find your boyfriend.” She grinned before she quickly downed the rest of the vodka cranberry. “He's been worried about you.”
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Oops it's been a million years