Replaced

Chapter 8

Virgil's POV

...

I can't remember the last time I'd actually been happy.

I know you're probably thinking, 'Oh but Virgil, you have a great life right? You were Homecoming king last year, and you had lots of friends and went to lots of parties. You just /must/ be happy, right?' No. Not really.

Really, it'd been so long. I specifically remember times in which I didn't actually hate life, though. My best friend Patton and I were inseparable. He was the brains of the operation, and I had the connections. I can even pinpoint the exact time in which that all ended.

There was a party a few months ago. Most of the details escape me nowadays, so I must have gotten drunk, but it seemed like after the party, Patton found it easy to make friends.

As memory served, Patton had always been the nerdy kid; too smart to make friends with most people. We'd been best friends since childhood, though, so I was an exception, it seemed.

He'd helped me get good grades in school, and I kept the bullies from picking on him just because he wore glasses and would always answer the teacher's questions. We were an unstoppable team.

That just seems like a cruel joke now.

I twist the knob on my locker, inputting the combination I knew by heart. The locker had been the same one I'd had since freshman year, and Patton's was the one right next to mine. Every morning before school, Patton had always met me here to put his textbooks away.

The bell rang, signaling to the students that they had five minutes to get to their first class. There was a time when Patton would never be late to school. Not that I'd been stalking him or anything, but he would always show up to his first class now at least ten minutes late with one of those cardboard holders full of iced coffees.

He sat down in his seat at the front of the class and handed the coffees to his new friends. I didn't really understand how they'd all become so chummy, considering they'd used to pick on him.

I sighed, slouching in my seat in the middle of the classroom. On the first day of school, we had agreed to sit here so I could slack off near the back of the class and Patton could take notes near the front. Guess that wasn't good enough.

Not that I cared anymore that I sat alone. Losing my best friend had thrown me for a loop, making me angry and irritable. I'd lost all the other friends I'd had. Not having friends gave me more time to focus on school, so I managed to survive my Honors classes without help from Patton.

Patton himself had his schedule changed after he started failing his tests, so our free period was the only class we had together still. Not seeing each other as often may be the reason why we stopped talking altogether.

For a while, Patton had still tried to include me, but once he started becoming friends with others, I couldn't help but notice how much he's changed. His cynical humor had turned into puns, and his friendly behavior had gotten overwhelming. I didn't understand what happened.

But then again, I've changed too.

I no longer chased after Patton, and with his amount of friends, he didn't chase after me either. With the decision that's been eating at me, that fact makes my choice easier.

After months of, to put it lightly, complete and utter depression, I've decided that I've had enough. I don't have anything to live for anymore, right?

No friends, parents that just don't understand me, and no ultimate goals in life, I figured, what's the point? The fear of what's on the other side has kept me from my idea for too long, but it seems to hurt more to live.

I stood in my bathroom. The bathroom counter holds me up as I hyperventilate in front of the mirror. Was I really going to do it?

Across the counter from me, innocently resting next to my toothbrush, was the bottle of sleeping pills I'd gotten months ago when I first considered this. This just didn't seem like me. I felt so out of place in my own life, I just can't take it anymore.

A breath catches in my throat, making me feel as if I'm choking on the sob that escapes. I grab the bottle.

"Would you really leave mom and dad like that?"

I whip around, face pale when the voice spoke up randomly from behind me. Standing in my bedroom was a person that looked exactly like me. No, really. Exactly.

"Who... who are you?" I look the person up and down. Am I hallucinating? "How did you get in here?"

The person pointed to the window behind him. "You always leave your window unlocked for whenever you need to sneak in and out of the house."

I stare wide-eyed at this look-a-like. This is insane. "How do you know that?"

He almost looked amused at the question. I glare. "Seriously. What the hell are you?"

"Language." He frowned.

I growl, getting close to him. "Answer me!"

He sighed, gently pushing me away from him. Well, I guess he's real if he can touch me. The look-a-like sits on my bed and smiles knowingly.

"Well, I'm you."

...

It has been years since I've written in first person, considering my oneshots and other book are all written in third person or third person omniscient, so I apologize if this was jarring to read. I'll try and get back into the swing of things as I write this book.

Okay this book was based off a oneshot I wrote in my oneshot book, but you definitely don't have to go read it since this will follow a different storyline than that oneshot, although following the same idea.

A full book was requested by someone based off that idea, so that's where I am with this.

IDK what the update schedule will be like, but probs a new chapter every couple of days. If you read my other book, College Experience, you'll know I keep to my promised update schedule (give or take a few hours).