Twisted Reality

Even though he was a bit nervous, despite how well the Skype call with the Biersacks had gone, Jake signed out of his sweetheart’s account and signed into his own. He was preparing himself mentally to possibly go to war with the Purdys, knowing that they were a bit more old-fashioned than Andy’s parents and might very well try to take the pint-sized bassist from them. He was technically a child until they figured out what’d happened and how to reverse it, after all, and had been in their custody at that age once; there was nothing stopping them legally from having custody of him again.

He had the little fella sit on the loveseat across from him with their hyper drummer, who was actually fairly calm at the moment, while he started the video call with his grandmother. The guitarist almost didn’t want to let her see what’d happened to her beloved grandson, afraid that her heart might not be able to take such a shock. Then again, she was a tough old bird who’d raised Ash into the tough man he was.

Deciding not to underestimate the elderly woman, especially after she’d gone through the loss of her son and daughter-in-law years ago and had to raise her grandson as a result, he took a deep breath and sent the request. Within moments, Anita Purdy accepted and her face appeared on the screen, looking a bit pixilated due to her webcam not being quite as good of quality as his own. That didn’t matter, though; so long as they could see each other clearly enough, that was all that mattered.

“Hey, Jacob,” she greeted, waving to the camera. She was one of the very few who got away with calling him by his full given name.

“Hey there, Miss Anita,” he answered, giving her a smile.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this video chat?” the elderly woman asked curiously.

“I wanted to talk to you about Ash for a bit, if that’s all right,” Jake told her.

“Oh, Lord. Don’t tell me that boy’s done got himself locked up in prison for a bar fight over a woman,” Anita groaned, knowing what her grandson’s reputation was, even though she knew about his relationship with Andy.

“No, he’s not in prison. He’s actually here with me,” he swore, waving his hands in a “No, you’ve got it all wrong” motion.

“Lemme speak to him, then,” she requested.

“Just a minute. I need to prepare you for something. Is Ray there?” he asked.

“Raymond Purdy! Get yer tush in here!” she yelled over her shoulder.

Moments later, Ash’s grandfather appeared on the screen and took a seat next to his wife much like Chris Biersack had done when Amy called him.

“What’s up, Jacob?” the elderly man asked.

“Like I told Miss Anita, I wanted to talk to you about Ash for a few minutes,” Jake started. “Now before you make the same assumption she did, no, he’s not in prison or the hospital, or anything of the sort.”

“So what’s going on?” He cocked a brow at him, his arms folded over his chest.

“You’re not going to believe this, but he’s a child again,” he said, trying to be as gentle and diplomatic about it as possible for the sake of their hearts.

“What?” Anita squawked incredulously. “What do you mean he’s a child again?”

“While he’s still an adult and the same old Ash we all know and love mentally, he’s physically a child again,” he explained, cringing at the volume of her voice.

“I can’t believe this, and I won’t until I see him for myself,” she said.

He beckoned the pint-sized bassist over, knowing she’d recognize her own grandson, even if he didn’t have relatively same style he always did just because his tattoos hadn’t disappeared.

“Hey, Grammy,” he said, his voice sounding a bit squeaky.

“Ashley? Is that really you?” Anita asked, her eyes widening in shock.

“Yes, Grammy. Do I need to show you my ‘OUTLAW’ tattoo to prove it?” Ash asked, being a bit of a smartass.

“Don’t you sass me, boy. Child or no, you’ll never be too old for me to spank that bottom of yours and wash your mouth out with soap,” the elderly lady warned him, narrowing her eyes at her grandson.

“I’d certainly like to see that tattoo,” Ray spoke up. “I’m not too sure this is my grandson.”

Glaring at his grandfather, the pint-sized bassist pulled his shirt off and threw it in the floor, crossing his little arms over his chest as he put the tattoo arching over his navel on full display. He wasn’t quite as toned as he normally was since he was in a child’s body, and therefore didn’t have the same testosterone levels he normally did, but it was the same tattoo nonetheless.

“Happy, Grampy?” he asked, sounding a bit irked at him.

“Oh, my God,” the elderly man asked. “Okay, even if the attitude weren’t the same as Ashley’s, this is proof enough. What the Hell happened to you, boy?”

“That’s just the thing; we don’t know,” Jake spoke up, making his friend sit down beside him. “He’s not the only one who got de-aged, as it were.”

“What do you mean?” Anita asked curiously.

“Andy’s literally a baby. Not just the baby of the band, but a grown man trapped in the body of a seven-month-old,” he told her.

“Seriously?” she asked, covering her mouth in shock.

“Hey, sweetheart. Is Andy already down for his nap?” he asked, turning his attention to Jinxx, who’d just walked into the room.

“Yeah, I just laid him down,” the multi-instrumentalist answered. “Hi there, Grama Anita, Grampa Ray.”

“Hi there, Jeremy,” they chorused in unison.

“Miss Anita was just asking if Andy really was a baby,” the guitarist explained. “I was going to show him to her like I did with Ash here, but I guess I can’t since he’s napping.”

“Since I have the lightest tread, I can carry the laptop in there and hold it over him so she can see him,” Jinxx suggested.

“That’ll work. You guys really wanna see Andy?” Jake asked, turning back to the laptop.

Anita and Ray both nodded, at a loss for words.

Nodding his head in agreement, his sweetheart picked up the laptop and turned it around so they could see everything as he saw it. The pint-sized bassist followed him down the hall to what was considered his room now, wanting to check on his lover for himself. Jinxx warned them that he was muting the speakers so they wouldn’t wake the infant frontman up, then entered the room. He held the laptop over the playpen he was napping in, letting them take in the sight before them.

He held the laptop in such a way that he could see their reactions, which were wide eyes and obvious gasps that none of them could hear since he’d muted the speakers. Ash leaned over the edge of the playpen as best he could, gently kissing the baby’s parted lips as quickly and gently as he could, seeing as his passie had already fallen out. He quietly told him how much he loved him, tears welling up in his eyes as he gently brushed his hair back away from his face. The baby smiled in his sleep and appeared to nuzzle closer to the little boy’s hand, obviously wanting to feel his sweetheart’s touch, despite being an infant and asleep.

“I can’t believe he’s really a baby,” Anita breathed, her voice coming through the speakers softly now that they were back in the living room and the speakers weren’t muted.

“Neither can we, and we found them de-aged like this yesterday morning,” Jake agreed, wrapping his arm around his sweetheart’s waist.

“So who’s taking care of them?” she asked, her maternal instincts kicking in.

“Jeremy and I are taking care of Andy,” he started, grimacing as his sweetheart pinched his ribs for using his given name. “CC agreed to take care of Ash.”

“And if we don’t trust him with our grandson as he currently is?” Ray asked, sounding stern.

“I’d never do anything to endanger Ash, especially with him in the body of a child,” CC spoke up, leaning over the back of his couch so they could see each other. “I knew Jake and Jinxx would have their hands full enough with Andy, as it is.”

“I don’t wanna come back home!” Ash snapped defiantly. “I wanna stay here with CC so I’m closer to Andy!”

“Andy’s parents are letting you guys keep him out there?” the elderly woman asked, surprised.

“Yes, ma’am. We’ve already talked to them,” the guitarist answered, nodding. “Their only request was that they get to come out and see him, possibly help us out with him.”

“We also promised both he and Ash that we wouldn’t send them back home unless that was they and, technically speaking, their legal guardians wanted,” Jinxx said, sounding just as stern as Ray. “We don’t wanna force them to choose, but we won’t make the choice for them, either.”

“So long as Christian doesn’t cause him harm, or allow him to wind up in the hospital, I don’t see anything wrong with letting him stay there,” she said, sounding thoughtful. “He may not be able to do as much for himself because of his physical condition, but even I can see that he’s still a grown man mentally. He’s capable of staying out there, so long as he’s got someone to help him with the things he can’t do physically right now.”

“That’s what we were thinking, Miss Anita,” Jake agreed. “Since he’s able to verbalize his wishes, unlike Andy, that’s why we wanted to leave that decision between you guys.”

“And if I think it’s better he come home to us until we figure out exactly what happened and how to correct it?” Ray asked, being stubborn.

“Oh, shut it, Raymond. Whether you do or not, I trust Christian with our little Ashley,” she snapped at her husband. “Besides, even if he did come home, I’d be the one taking care of him, just like I did when he really was that age.”

Jake and Jinxx somehow kept straight faces and held back their laughter, even though Ash and CC burst out laughing at how she’d reprimanded him.

“I personally say it’s settled. It’s fine if he stays out there with you guys, particularly in Christian’s care, for the time being,” Anita continued, turning her attention back to the camera. “But like Andy’s parents, we wanna come out there and see him. Well, I do, anyway.”

“Are you sure you’re up for that, Grammy?” Ash asked, sobering up and sounding concerned.

“Ashley Abrocket Purdy, don’t get me started. We’re living in Phoenix; it’s not that far from LA in comparison to where you grew up, and you know it.”

“I know that, Grammy. But I wanted to be sure you’d be okay, whether you were on a plane or chose to drive,” the pint-sized bassist said, sounding a bit sheepish now.

“I was planning on coming out there to see you sometime soon, anyway, boy. And I don’t care if you’re in a grown man’s body or a child’s; you’ll always be my little grandson,” she said, making him blush furiously.

“So everything’s settled. Ash’s staying out here with us, although he’ll be living with CC till we figure out what happened to them and how to reverse it, and you’re planning on paying a visit like Chris and Amy, even if Ray doesn’t, right?” Jake asked.

“That about covers everything, Jacob,” Anita agreed.

“Travel safe, and we’ll see you soon,” he told her.

“Christian, you take care of my little Ashley, ya hear?” She glared at him as her maternal instinct got the better of her for a moment. “If you let anything happen to him, I’ll make you wish you hadn’t. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am, Grama Anita,” CC answered, gulping like a cartoon character as he showed his fear.

With that, the Skype call to Ash’s grandparents was ended, and just in time, too. Andy started crying from where he lay in his playpen in the pint-sized bassist’s new bedroom, causing the little guy to go flying down the hall. Jinxx jumped up off the couch and followed him since he knew he couldn’t get their infant frontman out on his own, even if he wanted to. That left Jake and CC to nail down plans of how they were going to house four extra people, considering that the drummer might have to pull out the sofa bed for Anita and their guest room in their apartment wasn’t very big, either.

They decided that, as much of a bitch as it would be to tear down the pint-sized bassist’s new bed and the crib to move them, they might be able to switch homes for a while to make room for everybody. It wouldn’t be nearly as easy to have a seven-year-old cooped up in their little apartment, but it might be better so that Chris and Amy had a bigger room to stay in.

Jake thought about it and decided that, unless it came right down to it, he’d rather not try switching their homes around for the space. He didn’t like the idea of Ash running around the apartment and trashing it, nor the little guy pissing his and Jinxx’s neighbors off by yelling and running around. The drummer realized he had a point, but at least they had a backup plan if it turned out that they really needed it. Now all that they had to prepare for was their Biersacks’ and Anita’s arrival, as well as what to tell the label and fans.

Notes