The car came to a slow stop.
Aria barely noticed at first. Her mind was still spinning, replaying the last hour over and over. Ava being dragged away, the bathroom disaster, and most importantly, the fact that she was sitting beside someone she absolutely should be avoiding.
"Ava?" Zack called, pulling her back to the present.
His hand rested on the steering wheel as he glanced at her. The streetlights cast soft shadows across his face, concern etched clearly into his expression.
"We're here."
Aria followed his gaze out the window.
The building in front of her was… modest.
A single-story house, set back slightly from the street with a short fence enclosing a small front yard. A garage sat neatly to one side, and the front porch was simple, with a few potted plants lining the steps. The warm glow from the windows suggested someone was home, making the quiet street feel both welcoming and ordinary.
This was Ava's home.
Not a mansion.
Not guarded gates.
No marble driveway.
Just a building full of strangers living their ordinary lives.
Aria's chest tightened.
"Oh," she said softly before she could stop herself.
Zack misunderstood immediately.
"You don't have to say anything," he said gently, cutting the engine. "I know tonight was… a lot."
A lot didn't begin to cover it.
Aria nodded anyway, keeping her eyes down as she fumbled with the door handle. The moment she stepped out of the car, the cool night air wrapped around her, grounding her just enough to keep her from panicking.
Zack came around to her side, hesitating like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to be close.
"I'll walk you up," he said.
Aria's fingers curled instinctively.
"No," she said quickly, too quickly.
Zack paused. "No?"
She forced herself to soften her tone. Ava's tone. Casual. Careless.
"I mean… It's fine. Really. You've done enough," she said.
He nodded slowly, his expression unreadable for a moment before he sighed. "Look… don't think too much about what I said tonight. About me. About… anything."
Aria felt a flicker of awkwardness rise in her chest. Navigating another person's love life was complicated. Pretending to be Ava made it exponentially harder.
"I… I won't," she said finally, keeping her voice light. "Really."
Zack gave a small, understanding smile, then stepped back toward his car.
Aria watched him go, the soft thrum of the engine fading, and felt the weight of the night settle on her shoulders
Aria hesitated on the front steps, glancing back once more at the street where Zack's car had disappeared into the night. The house was quiet, the occasional hum of a neighbor's TV or the clatter of a late-night snack the only sounds breaking the silence..
She threw the door open after much thought, panic coiling in her chest as she stepped inside. The house was small, plain walls, a simple couch, a compact kitchen. The faint scent of laundry and vanilla from a candle barely masked the hum of everyday life.
It was ordinary. Unfamiliar. Safe, perhaps, but nothing like the grandeur of her own home, the polished floors and soaring ceilings she was used to. Every corner reminded her that she was no longer in her world.
Her pulse spiked. The Brooks were here. Ava's parents. She had to act like Ava, and fast.
"Hey, you're home!" Mrs. Brooks' voice floated from the living room, cheerful and casual.
"I… yeah," Aria muttered, trying to sound as normal as Ava would.
"Good, good, hope that Zack boy didn't try anything stupid," Mr. Brooks said, glancing up from the newspaper. He looked like he could throw a punch at someone right now.
"Come on babe, just let them be. Zack is a good guy." Mrs Brooks said rolling her eyes as she took off her apron.
"Yeah, whatever?"He replied rolling is eyes too. His tone was light, unconcerned.
Mrs. Brooks, however, was already halfway across the room, hands outstretched. "Here, let me help you with that dress." She tugged gently at the straps, guiding Aria to the sofa. "Sit down, tell me everything, what happened at the gala tonight? Don't leave out a single detail."
Aria swallowed hard, forcing a laugh that sounded too high-pitched even to her own ears. "It was… fine. Really fine."
Mrs. Brooks gave her a knowing smile. "Mmm-hmm. You've got that look on your face. Spill it, kiddo. Start from the beginning."
Aria's fingers clenched the folds of the dress, heart hammering. Acting like Ava was exhausting enough, but having to walk into the middle of her parents' curiosity? That was a whole other level of panic.
"I… I don't want to talk," she blurted, her voice sharper than intended. "I'm tired… I just want to rest." She continued but felt bad instantly. Ava's parents showed that they cared deeply for Ava which wasn't the case for her. Everything was unfamiliar.
Mrs. Brooks froze mid-motion, her hands hovering near the dress. "Oh—uh… okay, sweetie. Rest first, then we'll chat later," she said, her tone casual but careful.
Mr. Brooks looked up briefly from his newspaper. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, just a long night," Aria said quickly, forcing a small, polite smile. She sank onto the sofa, hands fidgeting in her lap.
Mrs. Brooks nodded and gently patted her shoulder. "Alright, rest. You can tell me later. I'll leave you to settle in."
"Why don't you go to your room, change, take a shower… and get some rest?" Mrs. Brooks suggested warmly. "You must be exhausted after tonight."
Aria nodded, trying to keep her hands from trembling. "Yes… thank you."
She followed the directions but immediately ran into a new problem—she had no idea where Ava's room was. Panic nudged at her chest as she tried door after door, each one revealing either a closet, a guest bathroom, or an empty storage room. Her heart thumped louder with every mistake.
Finally, she found it.
The room was much smaller than her own back home but… cozy. Trophies and medals lined the shelves, all with Ava's name engraved on them. A small bookshelf stood neatly in the corner, filled with colorful spines. A picture frame caught her eye: Ava smiling broadly between her parents, all three faces radiating warmth and happiness.
Aria swallowed hard, the contrast to her own carefully composed, but distant family life pressing on her chest.
She set her bag down, trying to calm herself, when her phone buzzed insistently.
Ava.
Aria froze, her pulse spiking. Her fingers trembled as she unlocked the phone and saw the messages flooding in:
Ava: Where are you???
Ava: Are you at my house???
Ava: Did my parents find out?
Ava: ARIA? ANSWER ME. I think I'm going mad.
Aria's stomach lurched. Panic clawed its way back. Regret was already eating her up.
What stupid idea did she come up with? This is absurd…
*****
Meanwhile, back at the hotel…
Ava slumped into the plush lobby chair, her chest heaving as if she had just run a marathon. Her hands still trembled from the night's chaos, the bathroom debacle, her panicked escape, and now the weight of pretending to be someone else.
Mrs. Harrison hovered nearby, fussing over her.
"Are you alright, dear? You're shaking," she asked, voice soft but insistent.
Ava forced a shaky laugh. "I'm fine, really… just tired."
"Alright dear. You really seem to be tired. Go inside and get some rest," Mrs. Harrison said finally.
If it were possible, Ava would have screamed happily—but she knew better. She forced a small smile, nodded, and bid Mrs. Harrison good night before disappearing into her supposed room for the night.
No sooner had she closed the door behind her than her phone buzzed again. Heart racing, she snatched it up. Aria had replied almost instantly to the frantic messages Ava had sent.
"Aria: I'm here. Safe… for now.
Aria: Your parents are… very nice. Way too nice.
Aria: You have no idea how terrifying it was just to follow instructions and not get caught.
Ava sighed, fingers flying over her phone.
Ava: Your dad said we're flying out tomorrow, from City B to City A. How are we even going to do this?? I'm panicking right now! Your mom is all over me! What am I going to do?! This was such a stupid idea… are we seriously going to pull this off??
Ava stared at her phone, the screen lighting up her anxious face. Each new message from Aria made her heart race faster.
Aria: I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. This whole switch, it's my fault. I should've thought it through.
Ava exhaled shakily and typed back, trying to calm herself.
Ava: It's… fine, I guess. But we can't just panic forever. We have to figure this out.
She paused, staring around the hotel room, the silence pressing in. Outside, the city lights twinkled, indifferent to the chaos in her head.
Aria: We can't meet to switch anymore. Not tonight. We're… trapped in each other's lives for now.
Ava's stomach twisted. Trapped. That word hit harder than she expected. She had thought this whole plan would be temporary, manageable. Now it felt like a prison.
Ava: Great. So… we're stuck. How do we even start? I don't know anything about your life. Omg, this is wildddd.
Aria: We'll have to learn everything about each other. Your routines, your friends, your family…Everything. I'll guide you. You guide me in return. Step by step.
Ava bit her lip. It was terrifying, yes, but… it made sense. They didn't have a choice. The gala, the bathroom disaster, Zack, all of it had thrown them into this impossible position. The only way forward was to adapt.
Ava: Okay… okay. Step by step. I guess… we can try.
She leaned back against the plush hotel headboard, running a hand through her hair. She tried to imagine herself as Aria, moving in her world, answering her messages, pretending to be her. The thought made her pulse spike.
Her phone buzzed again, Aria's instructions clear, urgent, and oddly comforting at the same time.
Ava took a deep breath, forcing herself to sit up straight. If they were going to survive this, she had to focus. No panicking. No mistakes. Just… learning, adapting, surviving.
And tomorrow—tomorrow would be a whole new level of chaos.
Her thumb hovered over the screen, fingers trembling as she typed her last message before setting the phone down.
Ava: Alright… let's do this. But if I mess up, it's your fault.
She laughed softly, a little too nervously, and then let herself sink back into the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Outside, the city hummed with life. Inside, Ava felt the weight of a new world pressing down on her. A world that wasn't hers—but one she had no choice but to live in.
Tomorrow, the real challenge would begin…