to stay at her house.

"So, remind me again why I need to sleep over at your house?" I asked while in the passenger seat of her car.

The traffic light turned green, and we kept on driving back to where my Aunt and Cousin lived.

"Because I can't trust you by yourself. At least, not while you're still in your condition." Tiffany explained, concentrating on the road. "I need to be able to keep an eye on you at all times to make sure you don't hurt yourself."

"So, what, you're basically babysitting me then?" I chuckled.

"You're talking as if this is the first time." She glanced at me curiously.

That's because this technically WAS the first time you've ever babysat me, damn it.

Sigh... This is demeaning. It wasn't like I was some dumbass kid running around with scissors glued to my hands or anything.

Deciding to ignore her, I pulled my phone out and continued researching more about how different this new world was from my own.

Let's see... Oh, here's an idea.

What is a "thot?" I typed in the search engine.

I was curious how different the meaning might be in this new world where gender roles where reversed.

Scrolling through the search results, one page caught my interest as I tapped the link.

It was that one internet meme where two fat nerds with light sabers settled their disagreements the only proper way they knew how. Except in this universe, both of the guys were now girls. Cute girls even.

"All men are kings!"

"IF HE BREATHES, HE'S A THOOOOOOT"

"AUAAUAGHUAHH"

I chuckled to myself. Glad to know the humor in this reality is still exactly the same, even if the roles have switched.

Let's see... What else is next?

I wrote a blog post meme

I raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar face that was flooding my search results. I kind of expected that I wouldn't be looking at the same face that I've known from my world, so I curious to see how this would work.

Tapping on it, I patiently waited for the video to load.

Familiar pink background, same seating and computer positions. The only difference now is a guy with a baseball cap and scarf instead of glasses.

With an annoyed expression, he told, "I wrote a blog post about why I fucking hate video games, cause this is what it does! It appeals to the female fantasy-"

Before I could even see what the meme was gonna pull out, I was interrupted when Tiffany suddenly asked, "So. Alternate reality, huh?"

I looked up at her, pausing the video and putting my phone down. "What about it?"

Although she was focused on the road, I could tell that she was being contemplative about something in her mind.

Speaking up, she asked, "If you're from an alternate reality, then that means there's a different version of me, right? A Tiffany Brian that acts more like a boy instead of a girl. Or, whatever gender she was."

"Well, yeah. There is." I answered, before asking, "Why do you wanna know? Do you finally believe me now?"

She scoffed, "Not even a bit. I'm just curious to see what sort of creative ideas are coming out of your delusional mind and what kind of stories you can come up with. Better than driving in awkward silence."

I sighed, "Figures..."

Well, I'll admit, I'd rather me and the Tiffany from this world start getting to know each other better. It would help me understand the difference between our two realities and how much has changed.

If I'm being honest, I also just don't wanna be bored either. The Tiffany from my reality always talks my ear off, so it's uncomfortable to be with a Tiffany that doesn't talk at all.

"So..." She started off. "This other Tiffany Brian. What's she like? How's she different than me?"

Hm... Well...

"Well first off, she's a bit of a tomboy, for starters." I explained.

"Tomboy?" She scrunched her eyebrow in confusion, "You mean to tomgirl?"

"Tomgirl? What?" I asked curiously.

"A tomgirl is a boy who acts more like a girl in some ways. Boys acting more tough, or going against normal boy stuff. Sort of like how you're kind of acting recently."

Heh, tomgirl. There seriously is an opposite for everything in this reality.

"In my reality, since gender roles are reversed, the opposite is called a tomboy. Girls acting more tough or going against normal girl stuff. And since the boys in my reality are more similar to the girls of this reality, I'd probably say my Tiffany would actually fit in pretty well here, maybe."

"So you're saying that she isn't so different from me?"

"Oh, no no no no, she's definitely way different from you." I corrected her, "She's a rough and tumble sort of girl. Like a violent little sister. But she's also way more expressive and outgoing, and she likes to talk a lot. Playful, teasing, genuine about herself. She's the sort of girl to make you kind of get the parental instincts to protect, yet you still realize she can kick someone's ass if she really wanted to."

"I see..." She nodded thoughtfully, "I'll admit, thats a pretty creative description. You actually manage to talk about her almost like she's the real thing."

"You know, if you want to ask me more about my own reality, can you at least make it less obvious that you don't believe a single word I say? I feel insulted and belittled for trying to open up to you." I told her with an annoyed edge in my tone.

"Just trying to keep you grounded in reality, hoping you get better soon. That's all." She commented, before asking, "In that case, how would you describe me then, personally? The me right now?"

"Honestly?" I began to rant, "Uptight. A bit of a condescending prick with this annoying 'I know better than you' complex. If you were a guy on my world, you'd be the type of guy I wouldn't be able to get along with that well. Completely boring and rigid compared to my own funloving carefree cousin back home."

"Ouch. Tell me how you really feel, why don't you?" She rolled her eyes in a deadpan.

"That being said... I'll admit, I'd probably react the same way in your shoes if Tiffany I knew started acting crazy different too. You obviously can't be all that bad if you're doing this. It just means you're scared for me, and you don't know how else to deal with the problem other than take control of the situation. This obviously means that you and the other John Doe are really close cousins."

"Mm..." She hummed, keeping her attention on the wheel.

"On that note, I was wondering since I found out about this, but..." I curiously begun to ask, "How different is your John Doe compared to me, anyway? From what little evidence I managed to see and hear about, he seems to act way more responsible than me."

"You were more responsible." She told me, "To me, at least. Kind and considerate, always the emphathethic one. Tidy, organized, always mindful of the time. Compared to how you're acting right now, you were always more timid back then. Despite being a year older than me, I always felt like I'm the one that's the older relative. You try to be a good influence on me, but there are times where you don't really know how to deal with me sometimes."

Really then? What a complicated relationship these two must have.

"Would you consider the other John Doe as cute?" I playfully teased.

Although she tried to hide it, I could see the blush forming on her face as she chuckled, "Yeah, you were always pretty cute. Even if you didn't realize it."

Aw shucks! How nice of her to notice my beguiling charms.

"Hey man, you're pretty cute yourself." I told her, playfully slapping her arm.

"Pfft, I'm not a guy." She reminded with a small smile.

Alright, alright, I see I've managed to get her to warm up to me. Even if it's just a tiny bit.

We were finally on the familiar road that lead to her house. Seeing the house in question spring into view, Tiffany began to slow down before we could reach it.

"Alright," she started, "John, if you want me to cooperate with you, you're going to have to cooperate with me. I'm taking a huge risk letting you walk around while you're still in this... condition of yours, so you seriously need to behave and not do anything to make me regret this decision."

"Okay then, what's the terms and conditions for not having to go to the looney bin against my will?" I said, relaxing in my seat.

"First off, please be responsible and not tell anyone about how your from some 'alternate reality.' Especially not to my mom. Everyone is going to think you're crazy and I won't have any choice but to take you to the hospital again."

"Pfft, I already learned to regret doing that after I decided to tell YOU about it." I muttered.

Ignoring me, she continued, "Second. Don't do anything crazy that can get someone or yourself hurt. I'm going to help watch over you until you go back to normal, but if I find out one day that you did something stupid, like go skinny dipping in a water fountain park full of children, or even worse, hurt or kill someone, then I'd have **** but to call the police on you and **** you to go to a psychiatrist ward."

"I'm not crazy, so that's going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy." I rolled my eyes. "Anything else?"

"Finally, please please please don't take too long to recover. I don't want to see you in an insane asylum just as much as you do, which is why I'm keeping watch over you. But if you go on like this and I start to figure that you might not go back to normal, then we'd need to get professional help."

"Okay, now that's just bullshit." I grunted, sitting up straight, "That's entirely beyond my control! And as I've said multiple times already, I'm not lying and I'm not crazy! You're basically saying that I have a time limit before you decide to fuck me over and **** me in a looney bin anyway."

"John, this condition is serious. The doctors have professional equipment and medicine that could probably cure you-"

"LALALALALA- I already heard this damn spiel! It's obvious that no matter what I do or say, you're not going to ever take me seriously, so just tell me what my time limit is before you decide to fuck my life over." I turned away from her with an aggravated huff.

I heard her give a sad sigh behind me, before she told me, "Fine, I'll give you a month until you can go back to normal."

"Three." I demanded.

"What?"

"I need three months, Tiffany. What, did you think people who suffer from brain injury recover in just a month? At the very least, give me three to sort my life out."

I'm bluffing to try to get more time to figure out how I'm going to get myself out of this situation. No way in hell am I going to be satisfied with just a single month. Maybe with more time on my hands, I'll be able to trick her into thinking I'm the other John Doe, or maybe find a way to go back to my other reality so that she can leave me alone and I can get back to my original life.

Tiffany gave another sigh before she relented, "Alright, alright. I'll give you three months before you can go back to normal. If you don't recover naturally by then, we need a doctor to help us."

Yes! Victory!

"Whatever." I mumbled.

We finally arrived at her house. She drove the car in front of the garage door and parked it before turning the car off.

We both stayed silent for a moment, thinking of something final to say to each other.

Despite how pissed off I am at her, I honestly can't fault her. She's my cousin after all, even if she IS from an alternate reality. It also wouldn't hurt my chances for a normal life if I could form a meaningful relationship with her and get on her good side.

God, I just realized that I might not ever see my own cousin again. I might not ever see my original family in my own reality ever again. I'd have to settle with getting to know their counterparts in this world instead, and accept all the differences that come with them.

That... That's kind of depressing.

"Look, John..." Tiffany suddenly began with a soft voice, "I love you, you know? I'm not trying to be cruel or unfair to you on purpose. I just... I just want my cousin back. I'm just starting to realize that I might not ever see you like you originally were again, and it... the thought of it just scares me."

...

Hm... We're both on the same boat then.

Sigh...

Calming down and feeling sympathetic, I turned around and decided to give my little cousin a hug to ease her worries. I held an arm around her head and hugged her next to my heart.

She didn't do anything to push me away.

"I'm sure I'll figure out a way to get home and give you back your John Doe again, Tiff. You won't ever have to see my cute mug ever again." I tried to reassure her, even though I knew that she wouldn't believe in that sort of thing.

She chuckled, before pulling me off of her. "Come on. Let's go inside and get you something to eat. I have a feeling that those fish sticks you bought aren't really that appetizing."

Well, that was rude. I liked fish sticks...

Getting out of the car with her, we reached up to the front door.

As she fiddled around with her keys, she said to me, "Hopefully, you still remember who your aunt is."

Boy, do you ever...