Seeing Double

Chapter One

JULIE POV

I was having an exceptionally good dream. I was on a beach with the boys of Five Seconds of Summer and All Time Low. Like if Heaven exist, this is what mine would look like. I was enjoying just splashing in the waves, not even concerned about sharks like I would be if I was awake. I was having the time of my life. That was until I heard my name being yelled, no screamed. It sounded like the person was being slaughtered, the scary part was the person sounded exactly like me.

I threw the covers on my bed back as fast as I could and bolted down the stairs, thinking just for a second that I would never actually survive a horror movie. The thought quickly washed away when I screeched to a halt right in front of the front door. The screams continued, and pounding began on the door. I tiptoed the remaining foot to the door and looked through the peep hole.

I stumbled backwards, tripping over the first stair. I yelped in pain as I landed on the stairs. "Julie! I hear you, help me!" The other me yelled, causing a sense of fear, near equal to her's, to course through my body.

I hurried to the front door and unlocked it. Julie #2 threw the door open and encircled her arms around me. She was crying hysterical sobs into my neck as I patted her back, not really sure what I should do exactly. Of course my parents would choose the worst night in history to just up and take a weekend trip to the beach. Of course Macon would be over at his girlfriend's house. Of course I would be completely alone.

"Wh-who are you?" I whispered once she quieted down.

"You." She whimpered, pulling back so we could look at each other. "Julie, I am you. I escaped to find you!"

Oh my god, she's a clone of me. She's a clone. She's my clone. I stumbled, feeling a lot more lightheaded than before. I grabbed her arm to stable myself. "Escaped?" I choked out.

"The scientists created me. Kept me in this small, little room. Monitored me. They told me..." She looked me straight in the eye, "They told me all about you, Julie. They told me I am you." She grinned.

"You're not me." I snapped, that was the only comeback I could form, the only response to everything she had told me.

"Yes, I am! It is great! You are so great!" Her voice was entirely to cheery for the middle of the night and the fact she was screaming less than two minutes ago. "I have always wanted to meet you. You are my best friend."

I slammed the door, locking it and grabbed her arm. I ran up the stairs with her trailing behind me. I turned my bedroom lights on to look at her.

I gasped. She was perfect. Her blonde hair shimmered, literally flowing as she moved her head. Her skin looked like porcelain, it held no scars or bruises like mine did. Her lips were plump, they looked like she did the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge perfectly. Her eyes were the exact same shade of grey mine were, but her eyelashes were longer, fuller. This girl was everything I wasn't. She wasn't my clone. She was a clone of a perfect me, a me that didn't exist, well shouldn't. She was right in front of me.

I wanted to hate this girl, she was everything that I wanted to be. There was just something about her that made me want to protect her. Probably the fact that she was, for the most part, me made me want to keep her safe from harm.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

She smiled at me, giggling, "Julie, silly!"

I frowned, "Any name you want to be called other than Julie?" I asked. She was now walking around my bedroom, letting her fingers brush over the posters and pictures on my wall.

She stops at a poster of Ashton Irwin she smiles as she reads the name at the bottom. "I think I like Ashton." She smiles at me, hoping I'll like it.

I nod and grin at her. "Ashton... it suits you." She looks pleased that I like it. "Just so you know, we are not telling anyone that you're my... yeah, you're my twin. I just found out about you. That's our story, okay?" I could only imagine if word about a clone roaming around got out. They were probably already searching for Ashton. I wasn't about to let anyone take her back to a lab just to run test on her. No.

"We get to be sisters?" Ashton clapped, she was beaming. She looked so pleased.

"Yeah, but I gotta call our mom and dad first."

She looked at me with teary eyes, "I've always wanted some of those." I immediately felt bad for my replica, with her sad eyes and lonely life.

"You know, we've got a brother too. His name's Macon, he's 19." I told her, her eyes lighting up with excitement. I can't imagine being excited to have Macon as my brother, he was so annoying.

"I remember hearing about him!" She gasped, she grabbed a picture of Macon and me, "This is when your family went to Scotland! I remember hearing about that trip too! Oh! Your trip to Hawaii was my favorite. I want to visit a volcano so badly!"

My eyes bulge out of my head at how much she knows. "Who told you this?" I questioned, absolutely petrified to know the answer.

"The scientist." She answered, nonchalant about the whole thing.

"How do they know all that stuff?" I manage to stutter out.

She shrugs, "They watch." She starts walking around my room again, finally settling in my rolly chair.

"When do they watch me?"

"Constantly. The watch when you're in school, on dates, by the way, Damon was really rude. I'm glad you broke up with him." My cheeks went red, my entire body was hot. I was being watched, who knows what else they had seen me do. "The videos always got cut off though, I'd always end up yelling at Damon being mean to you."

Videos. That word rung out in my head like a siren. I had never felt so unsafe in all of my life. I dialed Macon's number, my hands trembling. it rang for what seemed like an eternity before I heard a sleepy mumble of a hello.

"You have to come home right now. Something's wrong." All I heard on the other end was him running down the stairs, and the car cranking up.

"On my way." He huffed, I could hear the roar of the engine. I stayed on the line until I heard his car pull into the drive.

I bolted down the stairs, footsteps following closely behind. I skidded to a stop right in front of the front door as he opened it.

"Macon." Ashton and I both said, he stared at us for a second before he dropped limply to the ground.

To be fair, I almost had the same reaction.