Chapter 4 – Meet Me After Dark

The photo stared at us from my phone screen like a loaded gun.

“You’re not who you say you are.

Meet me tonight. Or I’ll tell everyone.”

Lucas took one look at the sender’s name and let out a low groan.

“Minji.”

“No kidding,” I said, heart pounding. “Your ex is onto us, and now she’s threatening blackmail. What do we do?”

“She doesn’t know the truth,” Lucas said, pacing. “She can’t. But she’s smart. And stubborn. If she smells something off, she’ll dig until she finds it.”

“Well, she’s halfway there,” I muttered. “That message might as well be a warning shot.”

Lucas stopped, turned to me, and ran a hand through my hair—his frustration practically vibrating through my body. “She’s intense, okay? Like, scary intuitive. She always knew when I was lying. That’s half the reason we broke up.”

“Wait.” I narrowed my eyes. “What’s the other half?”

“Not important right now.”

I raised a brow, but didn’t push. Instead, I stared at the message again, anxiety twisting my stomach.

“Should I go?” I asked quietly.

Lucas hesitated.

“You know her better than I do,” I added. “If she sees you—I mean me—as nervous, she’ll just push harder. But if I go... I might be able to deflect.”

He considered it. “We can’t let her think she’s right. Just… don’t say too much. Don’t get defensive. And whatever you do, don’t admit anything.”

“No pressure,” I muttered.

Later that night, I stood in front of the old music building behind the school—Lucas’s body cloaked in his oversized hoodie, heart pounding like a drumline.

The moon hung low, casting silver shadows across the parking lot. The cold bit through my sleeves, but it wasn’t the temperature making me shiver.

It was her.

Minji stepped into the light like a scene out of a noir film. She looked exactly the way I remembered—sleek dark hair in a loose braid, sharp cheekbones, eyes like polished obsidian. She was beautiful in the kind of way that could cut glass.

“Lucas,” she said, arms crossed.

I cleared my throat. “Minji.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been off. All day. And don’t say you’re tired. I’ve seen you pull all-nighters and still skate like a demon.”

“What do you want me to say?” I tried to sound bored. “That I’m going through something?”

She stepped closer, gaze piercing. “You flinched when Jake mentioned Rae. You forgot the routine during warm-ups. You acted like you didn’t even know your own locker combination.”

My stomach flipped.

Minji’s voice dropped, deadly quiet. “Something is wrong. And I want to know what.”

I looked her in the eye. “You broke up with me. Why do you even care?”

She hesitated. Just for a second. But I saw it—the flicker of pain before the mask returned.

“I care because you’re acting like someone else.”

I forced a shrug. “Maybe I’ve changed.”

Her gaze sharpened. “Not like this. This isn’t change. It’s possession.”

The word hit harder than I expected.

She stepped forward until we were almost nose to nose. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

I hesitated. “You are.”

Minji searched my face. Every breath was too loud. Every second dragged like a blade across ice.

Finally, she said, “If you’re lying to me… I’ll find out. And I’ll make sure everyone else does too.”

She turned and walked away, boots echoing in the stillness.

I stood there for a long time, my breath fogging in the moonlight, dread curling like frost in my chest.

Back at My house, I slammed the door behind me. Lucas was still in my hoodie, pacing.

“Well?” he asked.

“She doesn’t know,” I said, collapsing onto the couch. “But she’s suspicious. And she’s not backing off.”

He cursed under his breath. “We’re running out of time.”

I sat up. “Do you think this is permanent?”

He didn’t answer right away.

I watched him—me—looking so small and unsure for once. It was weird. And sort of… sad.

“What if it doesn’t reverse?” I whispered.

Lucas sank down across from me. “Then we’re stuck like this.”

The thought made my skin crawl.

“But maybe,” I said slowly, “this isn’t random.”

He looked up.

“What if this happened for a reason? You said yourself you were under pressure. And I… well, maybe I needed to learn something, too.”

“You think the universe body-swapped us to teach us a lesson?”

I shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

He laughed once, bitterly. “If the universe is trying to teach me something, I’d rather it sent an email.”

The next morning, I was jolted awake by Lucas—still in my body—shoving a jersey in my face.

“Up. Now. Coach wants us at the rink again.”

I groaned. “Didn’t we just suffer through a training session?”

“He moved everything up. Said we’re falling behind.”

“Gee, wonder why.”

We suited up in silence. Tension crackled in the air like static. My legs were still sore. My arms felt like dead weight. But the worst part?

Minji’s message still echoed in my head.

And so did something else.

Lucas’s expression last night—when I asked if this might be permanent.

I glanced over at him as he tied his hair back—my hair—and said, “Hey.”

He paused.

“I think we need a plan.”

“A plan for what?”

“For surviving until we switch back. We need to fake this better. You need to act more like me, and I need to stop getting you in trouble with Coach.”

He frowned. “You mean… we work together?”

“Unless you want me to get your team disqualified and your ex to expose us on social media.”

He winced. “Fair point.”

“So we make a pact,” I said. “You teach me how to be you on the ice. I teach you how to survive in class without punching someone.”

He hesitated, then stuck out his hand. “Deal.”

I took it.

Our hands—his hands—gripped tight.

For a moment, something clicked. Something subtle. Familiar. A strange warmth in the center of all the chaos.

And then—

BANG!

We both jumped.

Someone had slammed the front door open downstairs.

Footsteps pounded up.

Then a voice called out.

“Rae! Are you home?!”

It was my mom.

My eyes went wide. “She’s not supposed to be back until tonight!”

Lucas’s face blanched. “She sees me in your body here—like this—we’re screwed.”

We scrambled toward the hallway just as the door burst open—

And my mom stepped in.

Saw me—Lucas, in my body—standing next to myself in hockey gear.

She blinked.

Then frowned. “Rae? Why are you in your own room with a guy who looks exactly like Lucas Park?!”

I froze.

Lucas froze.

My mom’s eyes narrowed.

“Someone better start explaining. Right. Now.”