The Switch

4

As I sprinted out of the bookstore, tears of panic filling my eyes with my heart racing and my blood pumping I took long strides down the sidewalk.

"HEY! STOP!" I turned around quickly to see Arthur running after me with a determined look in his eyes and his fists clenched tightly.

"L-leave me alone!" I cried angrily and started running faster slowly regretting that cupcake I had earlier..but I think I knew what I had to do.

I looked about twenty feet ahead of me and saw the entrance to the woods, and if I could just get to the portal I would be okay! I just had to get to the mirror portal! I could be home with Louis, Allen, James..and everyone would call me a coward for running away from my 1P instead of fighting him like a man.

Why do I even want to go back? So they can make fun of me? So they can tell everyone that even tries caring about me that I'm a coward?

Where Louis even called me a coward?

Maybe they were right. Maybe Louis was right...maybe I am a coward.

"AH!! JOSHUA DON'T GO IN THE STREET!" I heard a mother scream in panic which made me stop in my tracks and saw a car racing towards a 6 year old boy holding an ice cream cone and in a split second decision of possibly dying by my 1P or by a car, I decided a car would probably be a quicker death.

I ran into the road holding out my hand, panting with wide eyes as the car screeched to a stop, the breaks on the car almost giving out. Sweat was dripping off my forehead and I glanced down at the kid with large eyes and him dropping his stuffed animal onto the road.

I frowned kneeling down grabbing the stuffed animal for him, smiling at him I handed it back to him.

"A-are you Superman?" He quietly asked with a smile growing on his face.

"Oh heavens no! I just thought that it was too early for someone as polite as you to get hit by a car.." I looked back at my 1P who was staring at me with an awestruck look in his eyes.

Instead of walking over and explaining myself I looked back at the woods and started to sprint again.

"STOP RUNNING!" He called out and picked up speed as soon as I entered the woods.

"STOP CHASING ME!" I yelled back at him making quick turns and sharp lefts trying to get him confused.

"WAIT!" He screamed and made a wrong turn tripping over a rock rolling his ankle falling down a hill. I could've taken that opportunity to escape, I could've fought him and gone home a hero. I could've done a lot of things...and I didn't do any of them.

"Arthur?" I hesitantly asked at the top of the hill, looking down to see a slightly bruised messy haired Brit. "Are you alright?"

"DO I-" I heard him take a deep breath in the middle of his sentence "do I look like I'm alright? It's going to be a good few minutes before I can stand. Why aren't you escaping?"

I hesitated and glances away slowly walking down the hill, and stopped a few feet away from him, just in case he had a gun or something. He looked at me like I had five heads or something.

I shakily grabbed a stick and pointed it at him with a trembling arm.

"T-they always told me that 1Ps were evil. They told me that if I was caught by my other half they'd kill me!" I spoke loudly trying my best not to stutter or anything stupid.

"My mother always said that the 2Ps would try to kill me. That I always had to be careful around them or else they would try to do something to get rid of me and take over my country."