Road Trip

  

Where the hell was Jason? He'd left me alone in this overnight homestay right as I was packed and ready to move onto the next leg of our journey. Of course, he was probably out "working on his gains" or whatever... It didn't help that I'd woken up early after yet another restless night, thoughts of my current predicament plaguing my mind. My stomach growled, desperate for chicken and waffles from the diner I spotted last night.

Finally, I heard the front door open and shut, followed by heavy panting. I peeked around the corner to see my half-brother leant up against the wall. He was wearing just gym shorts and a pair of sneakers. Flaunting his buff, hairy body, almost like he was taunting me. His chest hair was matted to his sweaty skin, more sweat dripping down his unshaven cheeks and that dumb mustache of his.

"Whew, the gym in this place is ace!" Jason praised through intermittent breaths. "I was expecting an afterthought like in the last joint, but they have the whole she-bang! I haven't pushed myself that hard in a while." I grumbled in response, not wanting the whole story. He walked towards the kitchen, empty bottle in hand. "I came back from some much needed hydration, then I'm going to take a quick run to cool down, and we can head out to get some breakfast. Sound good?"

I stared daggers at him. Who did he think he was, trying to take control of the road trip? I was the one who got us here, I was the one who wrote up the itinerary, I planned it all! I oughtta... "Hold on," I piped up, reaching for my own sneakers. "I want to go with you."

"You want to go on a run with me?" He asked, almost surprised. "Are you sure? It's not the flattest terrain. I mean, no offense, but you're a novice when it comes to physical activity. Maybe we could start smaller, get on a treadmill or-"

"No, I want to go with you now!" I growled. There he goes again, trying to coddle me. Treating me like a child. It was nerve grating! "The whole point of this trip was to spend time together, right? And you keep doing your own stuff. It's not fair."

Jason tugged on that dumb mustache of his, clearly conflicted, before shrugging his shoulders in defeat. "Alright," he sighed. "I suppose I should take it slow for a cool down."

And there he goes, guilt-tripping me. Like it's my fault I want to spend time with him. I don't care what he looks like now, he's still my baby brother. I'll show him what I'm capable of. Even if everything was different now, I can prove I'm still big brother material. I have to. I can't let him take it from me...

----------

It was only five days ago when the incident happened. After the company I work for moved offices, and Jason had gotten more serious with his martial arts training, we hadn't really seen each other in months. Despite the 12 year age gap, we've always been pretty close. And with him going on school break, I thought it'd be fun for us to take a road trip so I could catch up with my baby half-bro. I picked him up straight after work, piled into my clunker of a car, and off we went.

We'd been driving for a couple of hours before we got sidetracked by one of those mystery house roadside attractions. The kind of tourist trap I always wanted to visit when I was a kid, but my parents ruled against. Luckily, this was my road trip, and my rules. I pulled over, and we had a blast laughing at all the corny exhibits. As we left, however, Jason pointed out something new in the parking lot. There was a hokey looking tent mere yards away from the car. It didn't look like it was associated with the mystery house, but Jason was insistent we have a look before leaving.

Inside was a young man around my age, slightly stocky and with a bushy blond beard I would've killed to have had myself. He was wearing a ridiculous blue robe and pointed wizard hat. In front of him was a crystal ball that was also the sole light source in the dingy tent. He looked like something out of a cartoon. It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes as soon as I spotted him, but even I couldn't help it when he invited us to sit down and started to babble about the spirits and our fortunes.

I reluctantly forked over $20 to the guy. It was to make Jason happy, I had to remind myself. Then the guy took our hands, closed his eyes, and hummed quietly. I turned to Jason with a bewildered look, and he just shrugged his shoulders. After a few seconds, he let go and said in a hammy tone, "There are confliciting desires between the two of you." He looked to my brother. "You desire to look into your future, to know what kind of life awaits you in the unknown. While you," he then turned to me. "Still dwell in choices past and roads untaken, such is detrimental to your present."

I gritted my teeth, not wanting to admit he was right. There are plenty of things I've regretted. When I was Jason's age, I was a reclusive nerd. While superhero movies and anime were starting to go mainstream, I was still the outcast reading the comics and manga that inspired them. My obsession with MMORPGs didn't help, with countless hours lost to the likes of Warcraft and Legends. I wasn't even a smart nerd. I barely scraped through high school, graduated from community college, and eventually got a job in the IT department for a local insurance company. Not the loftiest of lives. Even now, I feel like if I had pushed myself better instead of wasting hours gaming, maybe I wouldn't be alone, drowning my sorrows in cheap beer every weekend.

Which is why I admired Jason so much. 15 years old, and he'd done more with his life than myself. To be fair, I'd been supporting him all along the way. As soon as I was earning money, I was paying for martial arts classes, swimming lessons, gym membership. Any competition that caught his eye, I would be there for him. I would do anything to ensure he didn't become the fuck-up I did. 

In a way, I was a little jealous he even had someone like me in his life, and I dwelled even more on what I could have done if I had. I could have joined the football team instead of an esports team. I could have gone for runs in the fresh air instead of being cooped up inside playing video games. I could have been popular instead of all of my friends being online. Where he was a trophy winning, record breaking teen with a bright future ahead of him, I was an obese, lonely nerd, working in IT, and living in a tiny apartment, never having reached my peak...

"Yes," mused the fortune teller. "Your outlooks oppose each other. Intriguing... A swap in perspective could allow you to work on those desires, and dampen your burdens. With each other's guidance, you could even begin to thrive... But only if you each accept the help. Yes... I can help. I will intertwine your destinies!"

I didn't believe in this bullshit, of course. But I'd seen enough movies and TV shows to understand the situation. He was going to swap our bodies, I was sure of it! I glanced over to Jason, who appeared more hesitant to accept the offer. Maybe he clocked onto what I did, and didn't want to become me. Understandable, I wouldn't want to be me either. He looked back to the fortune teller, who merely raised an eyebrow. And just like that, Jason smiled and nodded his head.

The fortune teller took our hands once more, and placed them on the crystal ball. It was warm to the touch, maybe the bulb inside heating the whole thing up. He mumbled some archaic sounding words, and the energy in the tent crackled. Was something going to happen? I looked into the ball, and the light inside grew brighter. The world around us grew less distinct. We were enveloped in the warm glow that even seeped through my closed eyes. For one brief moment, everything was white.

When the light subsided, things were different. We were no longer in a dark, dingy tent. We were outside the mystery house, no tent in sight. I looked to my left, where Jason was sat, and he wasn't there. Which must have meant... I held my hands up in front of me, and gaped. They weren't my own. They were smaller, less cumbersome. But they also weren't my brother's nimble digits. In that moment, I happened to glance down, and almost cried out in shock. I was definitely not Jason, not with a gut like that! My shrunken stature made my belly look bigger than ever, a dingy T-shirt clung tight to every round contour. In fact, it was the exact same shirt that Jason had been wearing, now several Xs larger. But that couldn't be right... I trotted over to my car, even that short distance putting me out of breath, and stared into the rearview mirror. What I saw couldn't have been possible. I wasn't Jason, I was still me. Me from 12 years ago, back when I was a 15 year old loser. Then that meant... 

I glanced back to where the tent, hoping I would see the Jason I knew and loved. But in his place was a tall and shaggy-haired man in his late twenties, frozen in place as he gazed down at his broad stature. He was wearing a loose button shirt and tie that I recognised as my work clothes, only many sizes smaller. He bore a sense of confidence and maturity. Though the thick mustache gracing his upper lip did most of the legwork. I could barely grow sideburns, let alone a soup strainer like that! No, this man was nothing like the man I used to be. Where my shirt was taut against my belly, his was taut against his chisled muscle. Where I had a rounded face with a double chin, he had an angular jaw with a cleft. The typical brains versus brawn. Deep down, I know this was exactly the type of man that Jason would grow up to become, and I was instantly jealous.

I stood by the car in shock, still trying to process what had just happened. I stared at my hands, smaller and pudgier than before. I licked my teeth, once again feeling the metallic familiarity of my braces. I didn't get them removed until the spring before graduation. Was I really going to have to keep them again for another 3 years? My skin felt greasy, an outbreak of acne scarred my forehead. I had forgotten just how gross I was at 15. Did I really have to regress to such a rough time in my life?

I looked back over to Jason, who was yanking on his tie. "Man, I hate wearing stuff like this," he grumbled. "I feel all constricted and itchy..." I didn't respond, still dwelling on my own teenaged body. Was I really this short and stocky at 15? I swear I had my growth spurt by now... After undoing a few buttons, Jason stepped past me to take a look at himself in the rearview mirror. Even before ducking down, I noticed him pause to brush his fingers through the hairs that poked out from his shirt, entranced. With held breath, he squatted to mirror level, and gazed into his adulthood. A few seconds passed before he finally exhaled, "holy mustache..." He reached up to give the caterpillar a stroke. "I knew I had one, but I didn't think it'd be so prominent. It looks retro, but in a good way, you know?"

"It looks dumb," I grumbled, enviously. It looked amazing, the kind of mustache I wish I could grow but never had the coverage for. And now my baby half-brother had one, along with all the muscles and body hair and maturity that was supposed to be mine. I don't care if I look like a teenager, I'm the older one!

Jason turned to me with a frown. "Well, agree to disagree." He leant against the car next to me, cupped his face in his hands, and let out a long, deep sigh. His arms fell to his sides, fingers drumming against the car door. Finally, he turned to face me. "This is weird," he said in a dulcet baritone I wish I had. "Everything about this is weird. Somehow, you're a teenager again, and I'm... Grown up..."

"No duh."

"But at the same time, it feels... I dunno..." He looked to his own hands, studying the veins and hairs that now adorned them. "Not normal, not right. Destined?" Realising he sounded crazy, he cleared his throat, and turned towards the car. "Unless we find that fortune teller again, I think we could be in it for the long run. We're going to have to rely on each other for the next few days." I merely grumbled in return. He sighed, clearly too agitated to argue. "Let's get in the car, so we get to the place you rented before it gets dark. You have the directions, right?"

For the next few days, we would continue to follow the road trip plan that I'd so meticulously planned for the two of us. But now there was a barrier between us. It almost felt like Jason was doing this to appease me. Not because he wanted to spend time with me and bond over new memories, but because he felt resonsible for what had happened. Meanwhile, I was growing ever more resentful towards him. He was playing up his newfound maturity, driving us everywhere, ordering alcohol in the restaurants and bars we stopped at, flirting with the multitudes of women who fell for his charms, laughing as he introduced me to them as his little brother. It was sickening!

But the very worst thing was when I realised this whole nightmare wasn't just for looks. I was beginning to forget everything I learned past high school. I knew I went to college, I knew I majored in emerging technology, but everything about it was a blur. I couldn't even remember how to drive a car. It was heartbreaking to know everything I'd done with my life in the last 12 years was slipping away from me.

But Jason. Good ol' stupid Jason. He was discovering a whole new life that had been created for him by the powers that be. He'd graduated with full honors from a proper university, majoring in health and nutrition, and now he's a fitness coach while he trains to be a stuntman. Plus, he models on the side, because of course he does! With every passing day, I feel more like a burden on his successful life. Which is why I have to prove myself!

----------

I wheezed as I collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. Sweat was dripping down my face, and soaking my shirt. It felt like we'd been running for hours, but when I turned back, I could still see the apartment block we'd started from mere yards away. We couldn't have been jogging for more than 5 minutes, and we were going at a snails pace too. Jason was speed-walking for Christ's sake! Was I really that out of shape? That a small incline and two flights of stairs was enough to have me keeling over?

When Jason noticed I hadn't crossed the bridge with him, he shook his head, and turned around. "I tried to warn ya!" He cried as he jogged up to me. Even if I wanted to be snarky back to him, I couldn't say anything through my heavy pants. He tossed me a towel and a bottle of water as he approached, before smoothly dropping down to sit on the floor with me. "Maybe now you want to talk about all this"?

"About what?" I gasped between shaky breathes and gulping down water.

"About your wild mood swings, and this incessant need to try and prove you're capable of doing things you're not. It's like you have a chip on your shoulder."

"Oh, Like I don't have a reason?" I grumbled. "This was supposed to be a fun, cozy road trip where we'd get to see some corny tourist traps and natural wonders, all while catching up after months of not seeing the other. But Mr. Perfect took over everything! My road trip, my car, my life!"

"Geez, is this what I was like at your age?" He asked with a chuckle, which turned to an awkward cough as I glared daggers at him. "Sorry, I mean was I this dramatic as a teenager? I feel like I must have matured a little since then."

"A little?" I scoffed. "A little!? All you've done these past few days is parade around the place with your shirt off, showing off your muscles, and your hairy chest, like you're mocking me for being a kid again. You complain about shaving your face, but then your stubble is too itchy, and your stupid mustache keeps getting in your stupid mouth, but you don't want to shave it off because you hate shaving, and the cycle continues!"

"Yeah, all of this hair is itchy," Jason grumbled as he brushed a hand through his chest hair. "I know you weren't that hairy as a man, but instant body hair isn't as fun as it sounds..."

"Oh boo-hoo, you're a big manly man now. Big deal. You even tell people I'm your baby brother, like it somehow makes you look even more grown up. And now you keep doing your own thing, leaving me alone in the homestay with nothing to do. And I think why did I even bother? Clearly you don't want to spend time with me. I'm a greasy, obese teenager who can't even climb a flight of stairs without collapsing. You're embarrassed to be seen with me. I bet you'd happier if I just wasn't part of your life any more..."

"Wow..." Jason mumbled. "Just wow... I would never think something as horrible as that! I love you, whether you're my big brother or little bro. I think you're taking this brooding teen schtick a little too far. Whatever happened to the guy who paid for my ju jitsu lessons when I was 7? Who went to every tournament and cheered me on whether I won or lost? Because he would never have such awful thoughts."

What, indeed... I was once a jaded teen, who wasn't at that age? Being the outcast didn't help matters either. Then as I left school and joined the workforce, I became more mature and less angry. I suppose having a little brother who looked up to me was the catalyst to get me to act more responsible. I couldn't have him growing up to be like me, he had to be better. And it turns out, he is better than me... But I've been acting more dickish than even back then. Why...?

Jason shifted his weight a little before letting out a drawn out sigh. "You're not the only one who's gone through a massive change, you know. It may look like I've got everything figured out, but I am constantly freaking out on the inside. I mean, I'm a teenager with the body of a testosterone-fuelled man! I'm over six foot now, and I can bench press twice my weight without breaking a sweat. I have hair on my chest, and all over my ass. I could probably grow a full beard in a week if I wanted. These are milestones I shouldn't have reached yet, but here I am!"

"There you are, ignoring me so you can fit more pull-ups and crunches and whatever into your schedule..."

"You think I'm exercising to avoid you? No, I need something to help keep my mind distracted. Because if I'm focused on my sets, I won't think about how I've suddenly lost 12 years of my life, and been thrust into independency, where i'm expected to be a responsible tax-paying member of society when just last week, I was part of a loudest armpit fart competition at school and won! I can't be an adult, I shouldn't be one! But I am, and it is terrifying."

This was the first time I'd seen my brother be so raw with his emotions. How was I supposed to know he was hurting too? I wanted to comfort him, but all I could find myself saying was "That sucks..."

"Yeah, it does! And all this time, I've been trying to be cool and composed. I think to myself, what would my brother do, and you would do your best to keep this road trip going despite the bumps along the way. I'm trying to be the best guy that I know, even if that guy's acting like a total ass wipe right now."

I sighed. "I really am, aren't I?" I scooched closer to Jason, and tried to put an arm around his shoulder. But he was too broad now, figures. I settled for resting a hand on his thigh. "I swear I was nicer the first time around. I guess the raging hormones mixed with jealousy made a volatile combo. I'm trying not to be so bitter, but it just sucks having almost half my life erased by a fortune teller."

"Maybe that was what he planned..." Jason said. "I wanted to look into my future because I'd been worried about what was in store for me. And it turns out, I had nothing to worry about. But you were more concerned with your present. You hadn't exactly been dealt the best lot in life. Now you've got a second chance, and you're already falling into old habits. If you don't act soon, you're only going to make those same decisions and be right back where you started. You need to take action, grab hold of the reins, and steer your life into a different direction!"

"Damn, when did you get so wise?"

"It's the mustache," he said with a wink. "It makes everything I say sound more mature. Listen." He cleared his throat, and declared in a deep voice, "Skibidi Toilet!" Hearing those words come out of his mouth, we instantly fell into a fit of laughter. As our chuckles died down, Jason wiped a tear from his eye, and said, "The point I'm trying to make is that you've been a pillar for me practically my whole life. You helped me grow into the man I am today, quite literally! So now it's my time to pay you back, to be your pillar. I can help you, if you're just willing to let me."

We sat in silence for a solid minute. Maybe Jason was right. I shouldn't be so down on myself, and assuming the worst in him. Maybe I can turn things around this time. Take on a healthier lifestyle, and lose this excess weight. Do better in school, and find a job that I find fulfilling. Stop hiding away from the world, and make some god-damned friends. This wasn't a dreary time loop, it was a brand new beginning.

"Okay, okay. That's enough introspection for one road trip." Jason jumped to his feet in a swift movement, then reached out a hand to help me get up. He didn't even stumble as he pulled me to my feet. He swung an arm around my shoulders, and gave me a tight squeeze. "Why don't we both get showered, and get some grub. I saw a bitchin' diner on the drive into town last night."

"Yeah, I'd like that," I grinned as we descended the staircase back to where we started.