Josh jolted from his bed with a sharp inhale.

"Fuck." He muttered. "I can't believe I just had a dream like that. About Max?"

He sighed to himself, resigned. He wrote it down in a dream journal of sorts, before placing his head back on his tender pillow.

"If only he'd actually kiss me. Just… to feel his lips on mine." He let that thought linger in his mind, before waving it away. "In your dreams. Literally."

He tucked himself back away, trying to sleep once more, his eyes firmly shut, yet his mind racing.

The images from the dream repeated on a loop in his head.

He had to tell someone.

—--

Josh arrived in college that day, ready for another day of studying and progress with his projects. His art was improving in leaps and bounds in terms of technique, though the idea of any deeper meaning eluded him. His brain was solely fixated on cute boys.

A cute boy.

THE cute boy.

His cute boy.

He sighed, daydreaming wistfully as he looked at the daylight streaming through the study hall windows, diverting his attention to the corridors when anyone walked past, just in case it was Max.

The alarm on his phone went off. It was time to return to class.

"No sign of Max, I guess." Thought Josh, packing up his tools, before wandering aimlessly to his class.

His tutor was to give a lecture about how to draw people, and this was something he did not want to miss.

He entered, not paying much attention - very much on autopilot. Sitting down and looking up he saw his tutor, Patrick Bildeston, alongside… Max.

He'd been here this whole time?!

And now Josh's face had gone a bright, flush red.

"So…" Patrick said, "now that you're all here, let me introduce you to Max."

Max waved sheepishly.

"He's going to be the model you're all going to be drawing today, so get used to studying his face, haha!" The tutor laughed. Josh, however, was embarrassed. He scrambled to get out his tools, trying not to draw too much attention to himself as Patrick continued to speak.

"So, when it comes to a portrait, proportion is all important! You've got to consider the size and spacing of every detail - the eyes, the cheeks, so on. You've got to make sure it doesn't just look like a mangled ole mess, hmm? Give it a quick go now, then I'll come round and give you all some tips for you to try again with. Then, I expect a completed piece of Max here, and a few pieces on subjects you will choose yourself, before a write up on the goods and bads of your work. You have two weeks."

He nodded, before sitting down at his desk, clacking away. Max simply sat there, smiling nervously.

"So, uh, hi! I guess I just… stay here and you all draw me! Good luck!" He said, his eyes drifting towards Josh, who responded only by staring right back, unable to move away.

The students all got on with it, using their talents to sketch away…

After all was said and done, Max got up, and walked towards Josh. Looking at his first draft, the lad was quite pleased.

"Wow, you did that?" Max declared. "That's so good…"

Every inch of his features were detailed correctly. His plump cheeks, his freckles, his hair, his chin…

"But uh, what's that?" He pointed around the forehead. There was a strange line, or crease.

"I don't know, don't ask me!" Blurted out Josh, "you're the one with it on your head! Though, now that I look, I can't really…"

Max huffed. "I do NOT have wrinkles!"

Josh retorted. "It wasn't a wrinkle! Maybe it was just… a trick of the light."

Max smirked at that remark. "Sure."

There was a tension in the room, as the students started to filter out and go home.

"Look…" The former said, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I just drew what I saw, and what I saw was…"

"Was?" Commented Max.

"Well… you know, whatever." Defeated, Josh packed up his stuff, and started to leave – before his hand was grasped.

"Follow me." Max declared, dragging out Josh by his hand.

Patrick stared over, chuckling. "Ah, young love."

The two lads found themselves in the men's toilets. Josh stood in the middle, whilst Max hovered near the exit.

"What… what was all that about?" Josh exclaimed, confused.

Max didn't utter a word. He approached Josh, grasping his hip and pulling him in. Their lips touched, their tongues turned…

This was exactly what Josh wanted. What he dreamt of. He was being kissed, perhaps a bit forcefully, by his crush! There was a strange… taste to it, bitter and acidic, but there was no doubt it felt good.

Max didn't shut his eyes once. He kept a firm gaze on Josh, who's eyes had shut in lust. Max inhaled, before letting out a deep, foggy breath into Josh's mouth. The latter sputtered, unable to pull away until Max let him.

"What the FUCK?! Why did you just… and what was… and then…the… and the everything…" the rambling continued as Max chuckled. He let off another rancid fart, the same as he had done the other day.

PhhMMMMRRRPPTT BBFRRPPPPPTT!!

"Ohhh, yes, your body is so gorgeous…" Max, quite out of character, declared with salacious intent. "Don't worry about my breath. I know it stinks…" He giggled, waltzing over to his prey once again. Rubbing the others frame, he felt Josh up, before letting off another fart.

BbbLLRRROOTTT!!

"Mmmm, you'll HAVE to excuse me. I just can't help it when I get like this. Trust me, you're gonna LOVE this…"

He smirked, before lifting up that crease that Josh had so keenly noticed before.

Beyond it was a silver zip – and Max was unzipping it. With a sharp, raspy sound and a bright, blue light, the zip was slowly being tugged across. Max's eyes rolled back in pleasure, biting his lip ferociously as he truly enjoyed every second of it. As the zip reached its end, the light left Max's eyes, and horror filled Josh's.

He watched, helplessly, as Max's scalp was forced back by his still-animate hands. Those same hands then grasped the rest of his head, pushing it down, crumpling his own skin and folding it on top of itself. His cheeks sank and fell on top of themselves as his double chin only became more prominent as the rest of his face sagged on top of it – and a green, bald head emerged.

It was hard to distinguish in the blue, crackling light at first, but it soon became clear. As Max's face sagged, his true face emerged. Dark, round pupils stared back at Josh as a long neck and head squeezed out of what was once a person, before popping out unceremoniously. The face breathed heavily, grunting and meaning as the body it was leaving continued to release gas.

phhhbbrrrMMMPTT PHHHBBBLARRRPPppttt!! BbfrrRRUMMPTTT!!

"AHHHHhhh…" It spoke, giant green arms now emerging as the rest of Max's body folded in on itself and crumpled, sliding down his frame as an alien at least twice his size squeezed out. And it seemed like a tight squeeze.

Until…

flop.

Max's skin flopped to the floor, the creature's sweaty green toes moving out from within it and brushing it aside, like a petulant child kicking off a pair of shoes.

"Ahhh, here I am." Moaned the strange, green creature.

"What… what the fuck are you?!" Cried out Josh in pure horror, his eyes stuck on what was once Max, but for a whole, horribly new reason.

"I…. Am… Slitheen!" The creature roared, quite proud. It stumbled over to Josh, was was simply frozen in fear. It brushed its mighty claw against his cheek, which was suddenly sagging.

"And so will you, soon…"

Josh panicked, unsure what that even meant, until his entire world went black.

In an instant, Josh's body was empty.

His skin was crumpled just like Max's on the floor. Their hollow hands touching.

And from this hollowed-out human emerged…

Josh. But… not Josh.

A Slitheen.

A big, green Slitheen.

"What… what happened… to me?" Josh stuttered.

He remembered everything. His whole life. Yet his body was not the one he remembered, not anymore.

It lay at his feet.

His mighty green brethren stood before him.

"Put him on." It said with a terrifying grin, and a joyful glint in its eyes.

"You'll love it."