I stepped out of the bathroom, trying my best not to look like a man who just violated a stranger's body, had a timeline, and penis crisis.
The two guys were waiting for me, looking worried.
The tall dark-skinned guy waved me over.
"There you are! Thought you fell in. Come sit, everyone's excited you're before tryouts."
"Tryouts?" I echoed. "For what? Bodyswap course?"
He laughed, like I'd made a joke.
"For hockey, dude."
Hockey.
Of course.
Russell was a hockey prodigy.
Benny… was not even a prodigy in walking straight.
The blonde nodded, and patted the seat next to him. "We all watched your tapes, man. You're insane on the ice. Fast as hell. Killer reflex."
My eyebrows twitched.
"Coach showed us your tapes. Your wins last season? Crazy, dude. I can't believe you just finished high school. We're hyped you're joining us."
"Your silver medal from Regionals? Insane.
Zane almost cried."
"I did not," Blonde guy snapped.
"You did a little."
I stared at them.
"Me?" I squeaked. "A hockey player?"
"Well… yeah?" Blonde laughed.
"I skate?" I whispered again.
"What's wrong with you?"
My chest tightened.
I wasn't just in Russell's body.
I was in Russell's life.
And his life was full of things I absolutely, definitely, unquestionably could not do.
Like skate.
Or hold a stick.
Or balance.
Or stand upright for more than seven seconds without tripping over air.
Well… I used to skate before.
Before the accident.
Before I got dropped off and forgotten like a broken thing no one wanted to fix.
But that was a lifetime ago.
The tall guy placed a hand on his chest.
"Okay, let's do this properly. I'm Damien."
He gave a little, dramatic bow.
"Hockey defense, unofficial dorm therapist."
The blond guy raised his hand.
"Zane. Right wing. And, um…" he gestured to the camera, "I do video stuff for the team too. Photos, highlights, media."
I shook his hand. His palms were soft. Soft palms should not be legal on hot people. It's distracting.
I laughed awkwardly.
Damien elbowed me gently.
"And the guy who opened the door earlier…the one who slammed it on you…"
He grinned.
"That's Aiden."
Aiden.
The jawline demon.
The door-slammer.
Zane chimed in, "He's the team captain. Don't take it personally, man. Aiden has two moods: annoyed and violently annoyed."
Damien nodded. "He's chill once you get used to him. Well… not chill. But less punchy."
I swallowed.
Captain Aiden.
Okay, fine. No big deal.
Just living hot hockey roommates, in a stranger's body.
Normal.
Totally normal.
Then Damien clapped his hands.
"So! Before Coach Steve sees you tomorrow, we need to sync schedules and…"
I glanced around the room.
The VHS recorder on the table.
The landline phone on the wall.
Everything felt… wrong.
Damien waved a hand in my face. "Yo, Russ? You good?"
"Yeah!" I squeaked. "I'm great. Just… curious."
They both stared at me.
I felt sweat forming on my forehead.
"So…" I coughed. "Just a weird question. Nothing huge. Just… you know… conversation stuff."
Damien nodded.
Zane leaned forward.
"What… what year is this?" I asked quietly.
Zane blinked.
"…Huh?"
"The year," I licked my dry lips. "The calendar. The…time. The…timeline. The…era. Just humor me."
Damien laughed. "Bro, you good?"
"What year," I repeated, "is it?"
They exchanged confused looks, then Zane said slowly:
"…Two thousand."
I stared at him.
My heart stopped.
"…2000 and what?" I whispered.
Zane frowned.
"Just… 2000?"
"Zero?" I asked. "There's… there's no other numbers? After it? Like… a… nine? A three? Twenty five? Literally anything?"
Zane frowned. "Are you having a stroke?"
I gasped.
"Oh my God," I whispered.
I was twenty five years in the past.
I clutched my chest.
Damien tilted his head. "You okay, Russell?"
I forced a shaky smile.
"Yeah," I lied.
"I'm just… processing."
Processing the fact that:
I'm in a hot twink's body
I'm roommates with three hockey gods
It's the year 2000
I might be dead or in purgatory
And I never finished the diary so I have NO IDEA what to do next.
But sure.
Yeah.
Just Processing.
Damien patted my back.
"You'll be fine. Really. Silvervein's a lot at first, but you'll get used to the chaos."
Zane nodded. "Welcome home, Russell."
Home?
I was Benny Ford,
and I had just been dropped into a life that wasn't mine to survive.