Laney's POV
I was at school. No, in a park. There was birds. An old woman with shaky hands was feeding the birds. There were flamingos. No... Bluejays. Wait, no. Now I was at a hospital. What was I doing at a hospital?
Whatever. That didn't feel like it mattered. A nurse appeared by my side "Miss Penn, would you please come with me?" She began walking. I began following. The nurse led me to a sickenly white room that smelled like cleaning products. She turned to me "You know Lenny Nepp, don't you?"
"Uh, yeah." I started at her, mystified. Why would she want to know that?
The nurse pursed her lips "I'm sorry Penn, but Mr. Nepp was just in an automobile wreck. He was returning from school when he was struck by a careless driver." She spoke in a monotone voice.
I flinched, my heart in my throat " H-How bad was he hurt?" I whispered. Car accidents were deadly. She could be paralyzed, or in a coma, or maybe even lose a limb.
"An autopsy showed that he felt no pain." The nurse said with a flat, unsympathetic voice. This voice I was starting to hate with all my heart.
No. Autopsies were something that dead people got. If Lenny wasn't in pain then he was dead. No. No. No. NO. Lenny could not be dead. I'd only just started to not hate him. No. That was a lie. I'd only just started to like him. Like him. Like like like like like. I had come so far from hating him, so why was he dead?
The nurse turned to ash and the walls around me turned to black. The floor gave way and I was falling.
I was falling in more ways than one.
The ground flew up to met me and I landed. I felt pain.
My eyes shot open like a skyrocket. I looked around frantically, trying to get my bearings. This was not my room. Of course not, it was Lenny's room. After all, I still had his body. Dear God, that had been a terrible dream. No- it had been nightmare. It had been a nightmare in which Lenny was dead. He had been dead, gone from Earth, and I would not have another chance. What a terrible, cruel fate that would of been.
But it had been just a dream. Lenny was still alive, and I could still tell him how I felt, if only I could tell myself first. Because before idea of him being dead in my thoughts, I couldn't quite figure out how I felt about him.
And even now, the fear of everything going wrong and the despair of betraying my best friends were on my mind. In science we learned about force. When two forces push against an object in different directions, the one with greater force will be the direction the object goes. This worked as a metaphor because I had to choose which was more important to me- Lenny or the band. And whichever was more would be the one I went with.
Choosing between Grojband and Lenny would take years. There were so many pros and cons to each option, so how could I possibly decide? But I didn't have years, so I had to choose now... Okay, I didn't need to choose now, it was just that I wanted to choose now. At any rate, Lenny was probably wondering where I was, so I didn't have all the time in the world.
Well, Grojband are my friends. Any good friend would want to support me and would understand me. When me and Lenny get our bodies back, there would be no guarantee we'd still be friends.
And so I had made the choice of Lenny. Whether or not it was the smart choice, I had yet to find out.
Walking through the neighborhood, I managed to get myself lost around three times. But since fourth times a charm, I had found myself on the right path after fifteen minutes of wandering. This was terrible idea. How exactly was I going to do this? Walk up to him and tell him I had a dream where you died so now I'm in love with you okay please be my boyfriend. And what if he didn't feel the same way? It'd be just like Corey- like a headless horse, it doesn't go anywhere.
"This isn't the time to get cold feet. Suck it up and just... do it." I said aloud, clenching my fists. I was definitely going insane. Crazy Laney in Lenny's body, falling in love with her rival.
There. I said it. It was so easy, but after the thought ran through my mind, it was confusing. Yeah, all the signs had been there, but actually saying the words felt so wrong. I, Laney Penn, am in love with Lenny Nepp.
Why? Well he's sarcastic, sweet, caring, considerate, snarky, determined, intelligent, and he loved music. He was not blind to other's emotions. It was such a nice change from Corey's tunnel vision mindset.
Corey... Did I still like him? Lenny opened my eyes to the fact that love didn't have to be all give and no get.
Halt. I'm starting to sound like a lovesick puppy. I am still Laney Penn, and I am still a tomboy bassist with a 'tude. My life would not revolve around Lenny. I had just a few moments ago accepted that I had a crush on him, but I would not let that decide my entire life. No more thinking about Lenny until you get to his... your house.
And speaking of my house, I was now at my street. Walking down my driveway, I once more began to go over what I would say. How I would say it. And one last prayer that he would feel the same way and things wouldn't be awkward between us.
Using my house key, I walked in freely. My parents would be working, so that wouldn't be a problem. I walked around the house, checking in the kitchen, my room, the living room, and all other rooms in the house. And what a shame, he wasn't there.
"And he's probably at Corey's then." I muttered. Luckily for me, Corey's house wasn't too far from mine and I knew the way by heart. And so I left the house and made my way to Corey's garage.
And as soon as I got there, I bumped into Lenny "Lenny! I was looking for you." My heart was in my throat.
Lenny smiled at me. Did I really look like that when I smiled? "Really? Why?" How was I supposed to say this again?
I bit my lip "I have something to tell you." Get to the point Lanes. No point in dancing around the point.
Lenny started at me "Um, what is it?" There was no backing out now. Just.. tell him. Like the way I play my bass, I had to do it right. Practice makes permanent.
"Actually, I sort of have to... show you." I mumbled. Show him? What was I thinking? How was I supposed to do that? Actually, the answer was obvious, bu.. just... ugh.
Lenny looked thoroughly confused now and I couldn't stand it "Okay-" He started. I didn't let him continue. I took a step forward and closed the gap between my lips and his. In other word, I kissed him.
It lasted two second before we pulled back at the same moment. I didn't want him to say anything. I didn't want him to see me as a friend, so I spoke before he could
"Okay, you're probably really confused, but the thing is, I had an enlightening moment today. And I realized I like you. Like, a lot. More then a friend. And I don't want it to be another time spent in the friendzone. I just want you to tell me if you feel the same way. And if you don't.. that's okay."
Lenny started at me, his face blank. My heart was trembling, ready to burst, when he broke into a foolish grin, his face reddening "I-I.. I feel the same way. As in, the part where you like me. I feel the same way. I like me- you, too. I like you too. As a more than friend type thing." He laughed nervously.
I smiled weakly at him and laughed, my heart racing "Yeah.. So now that we've got that done with, do you want to try to figure out how to get our bodies back? I mean, the idea of sitting around doing nothing is great, but I'd rather actively attempt to solve this. And then once we have our bodies back, we can sort out things with our bands."
Lenny opened his mouth but then closed it, staring at me with wide eyes."Laney.." He said slowly. "I don't think we need to worry about getting our bodies back."
"What are you talking about? Do you want to be stuck looking like me-" I then realized that the face I was staring at was not my own, but Lenny's. "Oh my God... Is this real?"
Lenny nodded, laughing "Yeah. I mean, we should of noticed the moment it happened, but..." He trailed off.
I ran my hand through my hair "We were too busy with each other." And so we had solved the problem without doing anything.
We had our bodies back.
And so this fic officially back up and running