A/N: While I appreciate both LyokanDestiny and iNVERTED for their support, I know there are other people reading this! Please leave a review after you've read through the chapter! And by the way, John and Aelita will be referred to by their respective bodies' gender, not their gender before the switch, and John will be referring to Aelita as 'Girly' for the most part.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! (Except John.)

The Switch

Part Three: As If Things Couldn't Get Any Worse

"This isn't my room…" Aelita said, getting out of the bed. It was then she realized something was very, very wrong.

"And this isn't my body!" he cried. "It's the body of that boy I saw in my dream!"

Ironically enough, instead of freaking out like John did, Aelita simply took a few deep breaths and allowed himself to calm down before he went insane.

"It's going to be alright, Jeremie will call soon…" he said to nobody in particular.

Fortunately for Aelita, it was a Saturday, and as such, there wasn't any school. But, there was one thing that was worse than school: a drunken, pissed-off father.

"JOOOOHHHHNNN!" came from the downstairs.

Aelita gulped. The voice did not sound happy at all.

Meanwhile

It was around lunchtime, and Jeremie, Ulrich, Odd and John were sitting at the table, with each person's mind on a different subject.

John was thinking about how much his life sucked at the moment, Jeremie was thinking about where the hell Aelita was, and Ulrich was thinking about how fucking weird the next few days were going to get. Odd was commenting to himself that the mashed potatoes seemed a little dry today.

An eerie silence crept over the table, which was immediately broken as Yumi came over and sat down.

"Hey guys, you look really broken up over something…what happened?" Yumi said, shocking everyone at the table back into reality.

"Ack!" said John, startled. "Don't do that!"

"Aelita, your voice sounds different…" Yumi noted.

John took a deep breath and began counting to keep herself from going ballistic. "One…two…three…"

"Yumi, that's not Aelita." Jeremie said with a hint of sadness.

"What?"

Jeremie explained everything to Yumi from the moment he, Ulrich and Odd burst into Aelita's room to moments after the XANA attack. (A/N I would have typed it out but I figured you guys didn't want to hear it again. Plus, I'm really lazy.)

"Then where's the real Aelita?" Yumi asked.

"I have no idea." Jeremie replied.

"I do," said John frustratingly. "Honestly, I'm shocked you guys didn't think of this first. Think about it. If I'm in Girly's body here, then what's happening with my body?"

"…Holy shit, that's genius!" Jeremie said. "Where do you live, John?"

"Elsewhere in the Bahamas." John said, taking a bite of her potatoes. (A/N Yes, he's being perfectly serious here. I just couldn't think of a good fictional city name right now.)

"Oh dear." Jeremie said quietly. "That…could be bad."

"But aren't we going to the Bahamas for a field trip next week?" Ulrich asked.

"Hey, yeah, you're right!" Odd said. "We can just go to your house while we're there and bring Aelita with us on the way back."

"Great!" Jeremie said. "We should call Aelita though, and tell her about the plan."

"Which makes me think…Girly here is going to go through hell in the next week." John said, gesturing at herself.

"What?" the other four asked at the same time.

"Okay. Let me explain this to you. I am what you and I would call the 'community punching bag' back at home. Everyone, and I mean everyone, beats on me emotionally and physically. I spend every Saturday applying bandages and iodine to myself due to this. I have no friends whatsoever. Not to mention my parents just split up and my dad is a drunken idiot who takes out his problems on me by beating me and cussing me out all the time. Mom wants nothing to do with me. My self-esteem is at rock bottom, and I pretty much hate myself for living. So in conclusion, my life sucks, and Girly's going to be hating herself after a few days, too."

Everyone was silent, with their jaws hanging low on their skulls.

"Holy crap." Odd said, mildly summing up how everyone was feeling.

Jeremie thought about this for a minute, put his head down on the table and then began quietly sobbing to himself.

"Is he alright?" John whispered to the rest of the crew.

"Oh, he's just really upset over the fact Aelita is most likely going to get really hurt over the next few days." Odd replied.

"…Why?" John asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yumi asked.

"No."

"The guy's in love with Aelita, no doubts about it. The fact that his love interest is going to be experiencing a lot of pain in the future just makes him feel awful." Ulrich said.

"I honestly don't see how anybody could care about someone else that frigging much." John said.

"Well, once you find the girl of your dreams, you'll understand," Ulrich said.

"You make that sound like you already have, Ulrich," Yumi said with a smirk on her face.

"What! No, of course not! I mean, uh…damn it!" Ulrich said, turning a bright red and adding the last part quickly

Everyone laughed. Jeremie quickly stopped crying and regained his composure.

"O-Okay, l-let's call Aelita," he said shakily.

A few minutes later, John was walking towards Jeremie's dorm room. The others had left a while ago, but he just wanted to be alone.

John's POV

Damn, it's weird to have friends. I mean, really. Human contact. It's a new feeling which is going to take some time to adjust to. But then again, once the braniac gets things fixed, they're just going to dump me back at the Bahamas to continue to be whaled on. Although they honestly seemed shocked when I told them my story, I think they were just giving me pity. I wish I had my iPod. It would give me a chance to just relax and enjoy myself. Listening to music always relaxes me…I don't know why. It just does, and--

DONG!

THUD!

Unfortunately for John, he was so lost in his thoughts that he managed to run into a steel pole on the grounds. On the other hand, when he woke up in the infirmary, he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

A/N: HAHA! Cliffhanger! Now suffer for my enjoyment! But seriously though. I'm planning to introduce a girl for John in the next chapter. And remember to leave a review on your way out!