I blink.
My vision fades from black— yet no matter how hard I rub them, dragging my hands up from beneath the sheets to press fists against my eyelids, my vision never clears; a film of blurry SOMETHING remains, turning lights into blobs of light and words into fuzzy curves and lines.
I sit up. For some reason, my back aches.
“Gray?”
I hear a familiar voice call my name from behind me— yet I can’t seem to place who it is.
“Kayden?” my voice comes out as a deep rasp. Surprised, I clear my throat, the feeling oddly prominent. I taste something bitter in my mouth and spit out blood.
For the first time I notice something off— my clothes aren’t right! I’d been wearing a pretty white dress and flats before, but now I’m dressed in loose, black cargo pants, a loose T shirt and a belt. I pull at the clothes, recognizing them as Kayden’s.
“Hey, somebody switched my clothes with my friend’s clothes,” I say. My voice is still deep as hell— it sounds oddly similar to Kayden’s. “Do you know where they are?”
“Wait, who are you?” asks the unplaceable voice.
“I’m Gray,” I answer, confused. I stand, brushing myself off, wrinkling my nose at the red droplets of spit and blood on the pavement.
“Gray, it’s me.”
I turn.
In front of me stands a mirror image of myself.
Before I can even process what’s happening, the strange mirror image speaks. “You look just like me,” they say.
My gut churns. Something feels off. “Kayden?” I ask, slowly realizing what’s happened.
“Gray?”
We stand, staring at one another, unsure of what to do next.
Kayden speaks with my mouth. “So we clashed heads… passed out… and…”
“Switched bodies?” I finish for Kayden, chills making me shiver despite the light warmth of the sun.