Replaced

Chapter 9

Virgil's POV

...

"Well, I'm you."

That wasn't an answer I'd expected.

"You're me?" I had an epiphany. "Wait, am I already dead?"

The look-a-like frowned. "No. And good thing cuz I would've had to clean that up."

I put my hands to the side of my head, frustration at my confusion giving way. "Stop being a smartass and start giving me some answers!"

"Language!" The copy hissed, standing up angrily. He frowned in the same exact way I did when I stood in front of the mirror, hating everything about how I looked.

Breathing in, I tried to calm down. This is normal. This is /completely/ normal. Everything is fine. I am not crazy. I ran a hand along my face, succeeding in wiping off some of the foundation I'd use to cover the dark circles under my eyes, created by my unhealthy amount of aversion to sleeping.

"Talk," I demanded of the stranger, pinning him with a glare. "Or I'll call for my parents."

He studied my face, probably feeling similar astonishment to how alike we looked. A sigh. "Okay, look. I really shouldn't explain this to you, but I guess you deserve to know."

"Yeah, I'll bet." I waited.

"Well, it's a long story." The stranger made himself comfortable back on my bed. He looked around my room quickly as he talked. "Most of which is classified, but what I've already told you is true."

Uncomfortable getting even remotely close to this person, I sat down in the chair at my cluttered desk next to my bed. "You haven't told me anything other than I'm you, which as far as explanations go, is pretty shitty."

"Is this how you always talk?" He mothered, seeming as disappointed as one.

I nod. "More or less."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So, I don't really know how to make this sound less crazy, so I'll just say it."

I waited.

"You're my clone." That wasn't what I expected. "I'm Virgil. This is my room, and you've been living my life for the last few months."

"Sure."

"I'm serious." He rolled off to the side of the bed, sticking his upper body off the edge and reaching under my bed.

"Hey don't touch-!"

He pulled out my shoebox from under my bed. If I didn't know better, I'd think that he thought it only had shoes in it. "I can tell you everything that's in this box."

I stared at the box. I hadn't opened it in months. "Stalker alert."

He leaned forward, setting it on the bed between us. "A walkie talkie. A shell from the beach I went to on vacation when I was younger. A note from the first guy that ever had a crush on me."

He named everything.

"Okay," I drawled out. I reached forward for the box to see that everything looked untouched from the last time I'd looked inside. "So, what? You somehow got in my room and looked in my box. That doesn't prove you're somehow me, and what?"

I scoffed.

"I'm a clone? And I'm supposed to buy that?" Truthfully, I was scared. What other explanation could there be for this?

He opened his mouth to speak, but we both heard it. A knock sounded on my bedroom door. "Virgil?"

"Shit!" I stood abruptly, frantically looking between the weirdo and my door. It was locked, but I knew my mom knew how to pick it. She'd done it enough times, so all I had bought myself was some time.