Alright, here we go! This is based off the movie 13 Going on 30, but with a little gender role reversal. This was a lot of fun to write, and I hope y'all enjoy it!
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"Robin."
He hears his name being called from somewhere in the house. Whose voice is that though?
"Mum?" he mumbles sleepily, rolling over into the softness of his pillow. He breathes in, scrunching his brow as he thinks the laundry detergent smells different. She must've changed it, maybe it was on sale at the grocery store.
"Robin!" he hears shouted again. It's a woman, he knows that, but that is definitely not his mother's sweet voice. It's screechy and mean.
Rolling out of bed, he stretches his back, twisting side to side. He yawns, running a hand through his hair as he makes his way to the bathroom.
He walks past the mirror in his bedroom, catching a glimpse of himself, and... wait. "What the bloody hell?!" he exclaims worriedly, eyes widening as he leans closer to the mirror. His hand comes up, running over the cheeks and nose he sees reflected in the mirror. He can feel the sensation on his skin, so he knows it's his face he's looking at. Robin makes a silly face, opening his mouth wide and sticking his tongue out, making sure the reflection does the same thing. Taking a small step back, fear and confusion swirl in Robin's concerned, blue eyes.
He's… an adult. A good looking dude, but what in the hell is happening? He just turned thirteen yesterday, this can't be right. Robin runs a hand over his jaw, covered in scruffy facial hair, and, hmm, that's interesting. His hand moves down, feeling across his firm abdomen. He's in shape, he'll give himself that, so that's cool. Looking around the room, making sure no one is coming, he pulls back the band of his gray sweatpants, peering inside with one eye closed.
Impressive, he thinks, looking at his member all grown up down there. Definitely not thirteen. Whose body is this, though? What is happening?
"Mum?!" he calls out frantically, knowing if anyone can solve this mystery, it's her. He stumbles out of the bedroom and into a long hallway. He looks around, noticing pictures hanging on the wall. It's all artwork, no photographs of anyone, completely different than the home he grew up in. His mum always kept family portraits and school photos on the walls, updating them every school year when the newest portraits were taken.
"Robin?" he hears the lady's voice again, this time closer.
He panics, darting into the living room. There's a pile of mail on the coffee table and he sinks to his knees, rummaging through them. "Robin Locksley, Robin Locksley," he reads off each piece of mail. "Robin Lock— I live here," he breathes out, bringing a hand up to swipe at the back of his neck. He lowers his hand down, pinching the bridge of his nose as his mind races, trying to figure out what is going on.
"Robin?!"
He turns, seeing a woman - tan skin and long, dark hair - standing there looking at him with eyebrows raised in that way his mum always does to his dad when he makes a comment she thinks is dumb. He furrows his brow and tilts his head. "Y-yes?"
The lady huffs, seeming irritated as she rolls her eyes. "Are you going to work today or are you just going to lounge around like some kind of slob?"
Well, then. She's not very nice, is she?
"Work?" he murmurs, "Uh, yes," he says, straightening up, trying to act like the adult he apparently is. "Yes, I am going to work today."
The woman rolls her eyes once more, fixing the diamond encrusted watch on her wrist. She spins and grabs a briefcase from a little bench in the entryway, saying, "Good. I'm not dating a loser who stays home. Go to work, and remember we have dinner plans tonight with Johnathan," before slamming the door shut.
He sits there for a few minutes, trying to understand what is happening. Pushing himself from the ground, Robin walks slowly around the large apartment. He meanders over to one of the windows in the living room, looking out at the skyline before him. Definitely not in Storybrooke anymore; he'd recognize those New York skyscrapers anywhere. The sun is still high in the sky, casting the whole city in a bright light. Puffing out his cheeks with breath, he turns, walking to the next room. It's the kitchen, and he suddenly realizes he's hungry. He doesn't know how to cook, though, his mum always did that, so he just prays there's Pop Tarts or something he can munch on.
No Pop Tarts, he guesses adults don't eat those? He does find a jar of peanut butter, though, and a loaf of bread, so he figures that'll be good enough.
He takes it to the couch, remembering with a small smile that there's no parent there to yell at him for eating in the living room, and thinks about how this could have happened.
Searching through his memory, he remembers coming home from school on Friday, talking to his parents about his party the next day and… suddenly, it hits him. His thirteenth birthday party, which to him was just yesterday. That has to be it.
"Thanks for coming guys!" he says as he opens the front door, a tiny lisp evident because of his new braces. "The party is downstairs."
He'd invited his new friend, Will Scarlett, the coolest boy in school. He plays football and has an older sister than can drive them places. They're partners on a science project at school, though admittedly, he's had to do most of the work because Will isn't that smart and he's busy with football practice. He'd seemed excited to come to Robin's birthday, though, when he told him about it. He asked if Regina, Robin's best friend, was going to be there and if he could bring some friends too.
Robin had, of course, agreed. He'd never really had friends besides Regina, so it was fun to have other people around.
Will showed up with his group of friends - there was Tucker, Alan, and John. And he'd even brought some girls - the ones he knew Regina had just become friends with when she made it onto the cheerleading squad last month - Kathryn, Emma, and Mary-Margaret.
He knew Regina would be so excited to see all her new friends, and he couldn't wait for her to get there. Having the new people around was cool, but Regina was his best friend, and he wanted her there more than anyone else. They always did everything together. Sure, she'd been super busy lately since becoming a cheerleader, but his mum assured him that once football season was over, she'd be back to hanging out with him every day, playing video games and doing science experiments (Well, okay, she always sat back and read Apples Magazine while he did the experiment, but she was there with him, at least).
The group all make their way downstairs where Robin's mum had set up a table with snacks on it, and there was a boombox playing the latest Michael Jackson songs. Will and his friends were all standing around, drinking the punch he'd made last night. No one was really talking, but he thinks maybe that's just because they've never been to his house before.
"Do you guys want a tour of my house?" he asks nervously, setting his plate of Bagel Bites and Cheetos down.
"Uh," says Will, looking around at his other friends. "That's okay. Say, where's Regina?"
"Here I am!" he hears her say gleefully, making her way down the steps.
His face lights up, always happy to see her. She looks pretty today, she's been wearing more makeup this school year, and she's learned how to do her hair like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, too. It's pulled to the side today in a frizzy ponytail and she's got on her bright leggings and denim skirt.
Everyone else at the party turns, greeting her happily. Will makes his way over to her, wrapping an arm around Regina's shoulders and handing her his cup of punch.
Odd, that he has his arm around her. Regina doesn't date or hang out with boys, not any boys other than him anyway. She's smiling at Will though like the girls do in movies, and it makes him uncomfortable.
She's been acting strange ever since she became a cheerleader, hasn't been over to his house that much (weird, since her house is right next door), so he's not sure exactly what is going on in her life anymore, but he's just glad she's here.
"Hey, Regina," he says with a smile, walking up to her and handing her a leopard print slap bracelet. They're one of the party favors his mum insisted they have since he had friends coming over this year, and Robin had saved the leopard one just for her. He knew she'd love it.
"Hey, Robin," she greets, giving him a small, tight smile as she takes the bracelet. She glances down at it, then over at Will's empty wrist (he said he was going to wait to put it on later) before sighing and placing it around her wrist.
The party is awkward; he's dancing to Thriller, trying to get everyone else to join along, but they're all looking at him like he's crazy.
The girls are all fawning over Regina, complimenting her necklaces and twirling her hair. The guys are sitting on the couch, lowly talking about something that he can't hear.
Will stands, walking over to whisper something in Regina's ear. She looks sad at first, which worries Robin, but then she takes a deep breath and smiles up at the fourteen year old (he's so cool, being older than them - he's supposed to be in the grade above theirs but he got held back one year for not passing), nodding her head.
She makes her way over to Robin on the other side of the room, and he whispers to her, "This party's so lame, Regina. They're not having fun."
Regina smiles, sitting next to him on some old milk crates they'd added cushioned seats to one summer with his mom. "Sure they are, they're just different from you," she tells him, saying they don't dance around and act goofy. "They play games though."
"Games?"
"Yeah!" she says loudly, catching the attention of everyone else. "Let's play a game!"
Everyone joins them, excitedly asking Regina what they're going to play. Robin sits back, watching as she takes charge, explaining the rules of Seven Minutes in Heaven. His eyes widen when she says you get to go in the closet for seven minutes and do whatever you want with the other person.
They all partner up, deciding who is going to go with whom, but he quickly realizes that there's three guys and three girls not including him. "Someone will just have to go twice," Tucker says, smirking over at Regina. "And I think birthday boy should go in first!"
Robin is nervous; he's never done this before. He knows he's expected to kiss whoever comes in there, but he's never done that. Well, him and Regina did kiss one time when they were six and were playing 'Marriage Day' (an afternoon they pretended to get married, him dressed in a little black suit his mum bought his for Easter and her in a white summer dress), but that doesn't count.
"Me?" he asks, pulling at the collar of his t-shirt.
"Yeah!" Will exclaims, clapping him on the shoulder as he pushes him into the closet. He leans in, whispering, "And Regina wants to be your partner."
His heart just about explodes. She's the prettiest girl in the whole school and his best friend. He's found himself lately wondering what it would be like to kiss her, or to ask her on a date, but he didn't think she felt the same way.
"Oh," Will says, taking a step back, "And before I forget, do you have the assignment for science class?"
They'd had another project, and Robin had, once again, done all the research while Will was at football practice. "Yeah," he nods happily, jutting his chin toward the opposite side of the room, "It's on top of the TV!"
"Cool," Will beams, giving Robin a friendly punch to the shoulder. "Have fun in there!"
Robin sits down in the darkness of the closet. It's a storage closet actually, larger than the one in his bedroom. It houses all the toys he hasn't played with since he was a kid and his family's boxes of Christmas decorations.
His lips twist, looking around the room. He can't see much, there's only a sliver of light coming in from underneath the closed door. He's been in there a while though, he thought Regina would be in by now. He wrings his hands together, thinking of what it might be like to kiss her. For real this time.
Robin licks his lips, wondering why it's taking so long. Maybe she's nervous. Maybe she's chewing on a mint and wants to swallow it before she comes in.
After a while, his face falls. He has a bad feeling about this. He realizes he doesn't hear anyone talking in the basement, so he stands, turning the handle on the closet door.
When he opens it, his heart aches just a little bit more. The room is completely empty, save for the table of snacks that are now half eaten. No one is down here. They all left.
Regina left.
Sighing, and closing his eyes tightly, trying his best not to cry, he stumbles back into the closet and plops down onto the ground.
He knew this was too good to be true. He's a nerd, a dork, a loser. All the names Will's friends had called him all throughout school until he and Will became science partners. Sure, he doesn't play football. He'd rather play video games and take pictures of stuff around town. Regina used to like that stuff too, but now that she's popular, he assumes that's changed. She's just like the rest of them now.
He starts rocking back and forth, back bumping the metal shelf behind him. There's a glittery wreath up there, the one he and Regina had made as kids. It was an old Christmas wreath that his mum didn't need anymore. They had made it the floral arrangement for their 'Marriage Day.' They had covered it in pink and blue glitter, pink for her and blue for him, and hung it in the doorway of his living room before his father had "married" them. They were silly six years olds, what did they know?
Robin looks up at it, scowling as he thinks about how Regina has completely changed. She's just another mean girl now, making fun of the dweebs in school. He thinks about how being an adult has to be better than this, this can't be what life is like forever - feeling like you're the butt of everyone else's jokes. "I just want to be an adult," he mumbles. He thinks of his older brother who is in college, and how he has friends who are almost thirty. The few times he's met them, they've seemed so cool. They have jobs and live in the city. They work and hang out together and everyone seems so nice. "I can't wait to be thirty," he grumbles, rocking against the shelf a little harder.
The glitter continues to fall from the wreath and onto him but he doesn't care; he's too angry to care about anything right now. "I just want to be thirty, I just wanna be thirty, wanna be thirty, thirty, thirty," he chants to himself, willing the tears away as images of Regina laughing with the other popular kids run through his mind.
That's it! he thinks to himself, it must've been the wreath. Somehow? He's not sure. He's logical enough to know that couldn't actually be possible. But it's the only explanation he has as to why he woke up the day after his thirteenth birthday party as a grown adult.
He's pulled from his thoughts when he hears a tune ringing out throughout the apartment. Startled, he stands, trying to find where the music is coming from. He finds a little device, not exactly sure what it is. He flips open the top part of it and hears someone yelling.
It must be like the telephones connected to the walls, just handheld now. He puts it to his ear tentatively, saying, "H-hello?"
"Where the bloody hell are you!?"
The person on the other end goes on and on about how he's late, and they need to get to their meeting immediately. "I'm standing outside your fucking apartment, and so help me if you're not up there…"
"Uh, I am," he stammers, walking toward the bedroom. The man on the other line frantically yells again that they're late, that he needs to throw on his best suit and get his arse downstairs now, and then swiftly hangs up.
Stunned, and confused, Robin hurries into the closet - a walk in closet, impressive - and thumbs through all the suits. He must have a nice job because there's a lot of nice pants and jackets and other fancy clothes in there. He thinks there's a suit in every grown up color just about.
He opts for a dark gray one, it reminds him of his dad, and pairs it with a light blue button up shirt he finds. After finally getting dressed and combing through his hair, he rushes downstairs and out into the windy day.
Robin shivers, not having grabbed a jacket, and is greeted by a tall man holding a car door open. "Would ya get your arse inside?!"
Confused, and a little worried (Mum always said not to talk to strangers, afterall), but assuming this man knows him otherwise he wouldn't be calling him, he gets inside.
On the ride over, the mystery man briefs him on their meeting, saying they need to make a good impression. They want Apples Magazine to hire them. He learns, through using context clues, that he's a photographer. That makes him smile at least. He always loved taking pictures, so it's cool to see he turned a hobby into a career.
They pull up outside the magazine's skyscraper, and Robin pauses, taking a deep breath. Apples Magazine has been around since he was a kid; this is a huge deal. "Am I a good photographer?" he asks nervously, tugging at his suit that he's still not used to wearing.
"Well you've been taking pictures with that stupid camera since we were teenagers, so I'd hope so."
Robin blinks, even more confused now. "We knew each other as teenagers?"
"Ha. Ha," the man deadpans. "Very funny. We've been through this. I was a shit lab partner, I was a right tosser, but I think you becoming my boss has more than made up for it," he chuckles, slapping Robin on the back.
Lab partner? What… "Will Scarlett?"
The man looks at him as if he's lost his mind. "Yes?" and then "Man, are you hungover? Are you drunk? Do I need to get you some coffee?"
Robin laughs, a full belly laugh at the irony of the situation before righting himself and clearing his throat. "Mm," he coughs, trying to tamp down his amusement. "No, no. I'm fine."
They make their way inside, and he's thoroughly impressed with the building. Everything is so big and clean; there's people rushing about, in and out, and it excites him.
Will hands him a portfolio as they make their way into the elevator. As they ride up to the twenty-third floor, he skims through it, looking at the amazing photographs he's taken over the years. There's some black and white photos, some in color, but all very, very well done. He's impressed by himself. He was always taking pictures with his camera when he was younger, always dreamt of being a world renowned photographer, and now, it seems, he's achieved that dream to some degree.
Will is talking, but Robin is only half listening, saying something about how the head of the media department saw his work in another magazine and was thoroughly impressed, wanted him to meet with the CEO to discuss a contract to only photograph for their magazine.
They step out of the elevator, and Will checks in at the front desk. Robin feels overwhelmed, still doesn't know who that woman was in his apartment this morning, or what in the world is going on at all. He feels hot, but lightheaded, like he might pass out. His ears are ringing but also feel as if someone has stuffed cotton into them. It's like he's drowning on dry land somehow.
"You ready?" Will asks, pulling Robin from his daze.
He nods, following the nice young lady back into a conference room. Will stays behind, claiming he doesn't have enough clout to make it into the big conference.
Robin licks his lips, not sure even what to say. What pictures do they like? Has he already taken photographs for them or is this a meeting to tell him what to shoot? He's dizzy, isn't sure what to do. He's too young for this. Robin had looked inside his leather wallet on the ride over, smirking when he saw a license (how cool is that?) and a receipt from two nights ago that claimed the year was 2002, making him thirty years old. Being thirty officially sucks, though, when you don't know what in the world is going on.
"Mr. Locksley?" he hears, and he shakes his head once more, trying to calm his racing heart. He looks over to the young, blonde girl (Ashley, he vaguely remembers hearing her say moments ago) and nods, assuring her he's alright.
"Right this way," Ashley says, pushing open a large, glass door. "She'll be right with you."
"Thank you," he mumbles, still feeling like he has cotton in his ears. Is this what a panic attack feels like? He isn't sure. He only heard about those from his mum one time (just a few months ago in his mind) when one of her friends had one at the pool one day.
He looks around the large conference room, eyes scanning over a bulletin board in the front of the room. There's pictures of a magazine cover and pages from the magazine blown up with empty space, presumably for his photographs to fill in.
He's thirsty all of a sudden, has never felt his mouth go so dry in his life. There's a pitcher of water in the middle of the table, so he reaches out, shakily filling up a glass. He spills a few drops, pinching his eyes closed when he realizes there's no napkins to clean up his mistake.
Lifting the glass up to his mouth, he has to calm himself down so the water doesn't spill out and onto his dress shirt. God, he's so nervous. What is he even going to say? He knows nothing about this business he apparently owns.
"Mr. Locksley," he hears a woman say, a beautiful voice with a rasp to it that he instantly feels connected to. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
He turns, making eye contact with the woman. Suddenly it's like all the lights have been turned off except a spotlight on her, as if there's a tunnel connecting him to her and blocking out the rest of the world. He's stunned, utterly shocked as he stands there, mouth agape, staring into the face of the only girl he's ever loved. The one who left him for the cool kids yesterday at his birthday party.
Sure, it's been seventeen years since they technically last saw each other, and man oh man, is she even prettier now. She's like… a real woman. Grown up, with a body like he's never seen before. But he'd know that face anywhere, could recognize those deep, chocolate brown eyes at any point in his life.
"Regina?" he asks, befuddled and shaking his head in disbelief. If he thought he was nervous before, it doesn't compare to what he's feeling now.
Maybe this is fate. Maybe she can help him figure out what the frick (fuck, he can say fuck now, he's an adult) is going on - how did he skip through his entire life to wind up right here with her? The dizziness overwhelms him, and he stumbles back, leaning against the conference table as he breathes deeply, reminding himself to calm down and focus.
She looks just as dumbfounded as he feels, sounds it too, when she lets out a shakily choked, "Robin?"
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I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Part two will be posted tomorrow :)