Replaced

Chapter 13

Patton's POV

...

"Well, good morning."

I roll my head over, unable to see without my glasses on. Reaching over to fumble for them on my nightstand, I found them properly folded and put neatly back in my case. That's weird; I always just leave them open and out on my table.

Slipping them back on my face and sitting up to stretch, I look up to see... well, myself sitting at my desk. "Oh. Hey, Logan."

This still felt weird. He was me, looked exactly like me, but was clearly not me. He was uptight and couldn't relax; couldn't even seem to smile genuinely. That's how I remember how I used to be before I chose to take things with a grain of salt and stop stressing over the little things. I guess those memories just explain everything.

"Hello Patton." Logan nods, setting down the book he'd been reading and pushes his glasses back up from where they'd fallen down his nose. "I trust you slept well, considering it is already past noon."

I rub the sleep from my eyes. "Wow, it's earlier than I thought."

He wrinkled his nose at that but didn't say anything. I guess he was still an early-riser like I used to be. Standing up and sliding into my bunny slippers, I make my way to the desk to see what he was reading. It was... a textbook? "Did you organize my desk?"

"Yes." He nods, seeming quite proud of himself. "It was in desperate need of straightening."

I nod slowly. Prick. I smile instead, not finding it in myself to be mad at my clone. This was like, the coolest thing that's ever happened in my life. I open my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it.

"I've already gotten breakfast if you would like to go downstairs and get some." He picks the textbook back up as he stands, moving to slide it back in an open spot on my bookshelf I rarely touch.

A thought pops into my head. "I have to tell my parents! Or, I guess, our parents."

He straightens his back and turns to me, bug-eyed and almost seemingly offended. "My parents, and you can't tell them."

"Why not?

"How would you explain this?" Logan crosses his arms, voice patronizing. "Plus, I wasn't even supposed to make contact with you, much less tell my parents the truth."

I wanted to answer his first question, but something else he said got me thinking. "You said all you needed to do was say a string of numbers, and I'll shut down."

He nods.

"Like a robot." Why didn't he just shut me down when we first met, then?

"A very human-like robot, I must admit." He tilts his head, studying me in a similar way he's been doing since we met. "Which I have to say is very intriguing."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem to have all my memories." He gestures forward with a hand. "And you didn't even know something was different about you after you took over for me?"

Shaking my head, I did have to agree. How had I not noticed how different I was recently?

"But there is some very obvious differences between us." He puts a finger to his chin, clearly thinking.

"Like what?"

He gestures to me up and down. "Look at the way you dress."

I look down, scanning myself from bunny slippers to puppy t-shirt. "This is what I always wear."