Chapter 12
Theo
“Remember,” I say, doing one final check-over of Astrid, “Just be non-chalant, supportive obviously, but casual. Don’t refer to me in the third person.”
Her face contorts into a frown as she sarcastically replies, “No Theo, I thought I’d just tell them straight that I woke up yesterday with a penis. I’m sure they’d believe it.”
I shake my head, pass her my jacket, and follow her out of the door.
“Wait, what are you doing?” she asks confusingly. I still can’t get over the fact that I’m listening to my own voice every time she speaks. I swear my voice sounded deeper than that to me.
Brushing off that weird moment of masculine insecurity, I respond, “Walking you to the pub?”
She puts out a hand before the corner of her mouth tips up into a smirk, “You don’t need to. I’m a man now, remember? I finally have the luxury of walking alone by myself at night without the fear of getting murdered. ”
I mean, I guess she was right. I hadn’t thought that I probably wouldn’t be able to go for a run by myself anymore, at least whilst I was like this anyway. As much as I like to think I could fight them off, I don’t fancy using Astrid’s body to test that strength and risk it getting hurt. Either way, I still didn’t feel comfortable at the prospect of Astrid walking by herself in the dark, even if she was now in the body of a 6”3 male.
“No, I’m still coming. Want to make sure you get there safely.”
I can’t describe the emotion that crosses her face. It looks like she’s about to clap back, but she swallows it down, and just…nods. Good. Because I would have still gone anyway.
As we head out into town, we’re only about 5 minutes away from The Knight’s Table , our local pub that has seen many a person spewing on the floor, shrieking at the football, and snorting very much illegal substances in the toilets. But it was one of those crunchy pubs that although it stank of stale tobacco, it was like a second home. Nostalgic and full of fond memories.
We can hear the crowd of the pub before we even get there. I told Billy and Ro that I’d meet them inside, meaning Astrid was going to have to fight her way through the massive drunken crowd in order to meet them. As much as I wanted to help her, I knew this was my stop. If it looked like I’d brought Astrid in with me, they’d think something was up. She never came to the pub; she’d much rather eat her left arm first.
“Right. Billy and Ro are inside, if you head on in, you’ll likely find them sat at the bar.” I say, placing a reassuring palm on her shoulder, my shoulder. That would never not be weird.
“What do I do if I can’t find them?” she asks, her forehead wrinkling in worry.
“You will. Trust me, mark my words. They will be sat at the bar, probably already pissed as a fart, with three pints of Guiness, a packet of salt and vinegar crisps each, chatting shit to Derek the barman.”
She looks skeptical, but takes a breath as she readjusts her jacket. I can tell she’s trying to psych herself up.
“Guiness, crisps, Derek, got it.” She salutes. “But remember Theo, 1 hour . I’m not getting sucked into Billy’s drama and I don’t know how long I can pretend to be you.”
I smile, “Just be my charming and dashing self, and you’ll be fine.”
She starts walking forward into the entrance before turning her head back to me with a faint smile, “Then I’d definitely be pretending. ”
We’d got this. We were going to make the best out of a bad situation. Everything was going to be fine.