“Hello.” Hunter blinked when the reflection tilted its head. “Would you prefer your name or Papa Smurf?” it asked. “I do find the latter rather fun-”
“You’re not real,” Hunter uttered before scrubbing a hand down his face. “I’m just tired. Yeah, that’s it.” He chuckled to himself as he crossed the room to turn the mirror around. “I need to sleep more…”
“Why are you tired?”
Seizing the edges of the mirror, Hunter chanced a glance only to come face to face with his double. Jumping back when he was met with a smile, the teen took another step back before walking over to the vanity mirror posted over his dresser.
He checked his eyes to see that they were clear. He felt his forehead to see that he wasn’t running a fever. A growling stomach then caught his attention. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning and even that was just a slice of toast and a cup of juice as he had woken up late.
“This is just a hunger induced haze,” he told himself as he felt his stomach rumble. Tapping then drew is gaze back to the mirror to see the other teen rapping his fingers against the reflective surface. “No.”
Beelining for the door as the knocks grew louder, Hunter slammed the thing shut behind prior to heading downstairs.
“You here to help, Papa Smurf?” his father questioned he began chopping vegetables. When he didn’t get a reply, he glanced over his shoulder to see his son eyeing the knife vacantly. “Hunter, you ok?” Nothing. “Hunter!”
“I wanna ask you a question.”
“…ok?”
“How do you know if you’re going crazy?”
Everything was just a figment of his imagination. What he was seeing was merely the work of an overly stressed and exhausted mind. All he needed to do was close his eyes and fall asleep.
The light sound of tapping said otherwise.
“Hello…?”
“You’re not real,” Hunter grumbled as he pulled his blanket over his head.
It grew silent enough for the teen to drift off to sleep before the tapping came again.
It was light at first, nearly overlooked, before it started to increase to the point Hunter had to peep from under his covers. When the sound diminished, Hunter drifted back to sleep before startling when there was a loud knock – something like an object smashing into glass. Bolting up when it came again, groggy eyes focused on the mirror to see that the glass didn’t seem to be in place.
Rubbing at his eyes as he crawled to the end of his bed, Hunter straightened when he didn’t see the other teen in the mirror.
“…ello?” he whispered before shaking his head.
He was looking for something that shouldn’t have been there in the first place. The sound of broken glass crunching made the blue-haired male stiffened considerably as he went back to staring at the pane-free mirror. Swallowing thickly as he climbed out of the bed, he took a step forward prior to reaching out to see if nothing was truly there. As his nerve faltered, he backpedaled before having his wrist seized.
Looking down at the outline of a hand, Hunter’s gaze panned upward to see a matching set of eyes. A second hand then covered his mouth just as a scream started to climb its way out of his throat. Everything then faded to black before the sound of an alarm clock roused the teenager.
Slamming a hand down onto the noisy device, Hunter sat up slowly to rub the sleep from his eyes. Glancing at the time as he stretched, he froze midway as he caught his reflection in the mirror. Remembering what had happened the night before, he bolted out of bed to hide out of sight of the mirror’s gaze.
He leaned in at angle to stare at the empty mirror before creeping over. Waving his hand in front of the glass to see his reflection do the same, Hunter slowly moved to be in front of the thing to touch the surface.
He was met with the cold hardness of glass beneath his fingertips.
“Hunter, are you up? Don’t wanna be late for school!” his dad called from downstairs. “Try to eat breakfast this morning too!”
“Yes, mother,” he called back as he rolled his eyes.
Going about his morning routine, he eyed the mirror every so often when he got the sneaking suspicion that he was being watched. Walking over the vanity mirror perched above his dresser to fix his hair, he stiffened when he heard what sounded like a knock.
Looking back at the mirror stationed across from his bed, he continued about his grooming before snagging a hold of his bag when the knock came again.
“Have a good day.”
Pausing at the door to glance over his shoulder to see no one there, Hunter pulled the door shut behind him before making his way down the stairs.
“G’morning, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Fuck. You.”
“What kinda’ greeting is that?” Mikey questioned as he rocked to and fro. “After all, I came all this way to make sure my friend got to school on time this morning.”
“That’s bull,” Hunter retorted as he headed to the kitchen. “You just didn’t do your homework because you were probably playing videogames.” He grabbed a slice of toast and an apple. “Or watching por-”
Michael clamped a hand over his friend’s mouth as his mother entered the room. “You must’ve gotten more than enough sleep last night since you’re talking an awful lot this morning.”
“You never shut up long enough for me to get a word in.”
“Rude.”
“Boys.”
“I prefer to be called a man,” Mikey interjected as he snatched his friend’s toast.
“Right…” Hunter’s mom drawled before looking at the clock on the wall. “Shouldn’t you be on your way?”
“Yeah,” Hunter groused as he watched his friend eat his breakfast. “See you later.”
Snagging the so-called man out the kitchen then out the door and down the path leading to the sidewalk, Hunter grimaces at the lack of breakfast. Glancing up at his bedroom door, a shiver ran up Hunter’s back as the curtains swayed to and fro.
Did he leave his blinds open?
Shaking the thought away as he walked down the sidewalk, the blue-haired teen slowed his pace when he saw that his companion was staring at him expectantly. Cocking an eyebrow when the teen held out a hand, Hunter started to walk past him until he felt a tug at his book bag.
“You owe me.”
“I don’t owe you shit,” Hunter griped as he tugged his bag away. "If anything, you owe me breakfast!"
“Oh c’mon! I found you a good place to sleep all day!”
“You shouldn’t have let me sleep all day!”
“Well, excuse me for trying to be a good friend.”
“Ok, fine.” Rummaging through his bag to retrieve his work, Hunter grimaced as he held it out. “This is the last time.”
“Mhmm, yeah,” Mikey said as he packed it away, “so I’ll give it back to you before we have that class.”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Hunter murmured as he rifled through his bag.
“What are you looking for?”
“My phone,” came the reply as the teen patted his pockets.
“We still have time for you to go back and get it,” Mikey said as he checked the time on his cell. “Do you wanna?”
Glancing back at the side window of his room, a shiver worked its way down Hunter’s spine as he saw the curtains shift.
Or did they?
I’m still tired…yeah, that’s it…
“Well?”
“Huh?”
Mikey grimaced. “Are you getting enough sleep, man?”
“’m fine,” Hunter replied as he slung his bag back over his shoulder. “Let’s just go.”
“But your phone-”
“Leave it.”667Please respect copyright.PENANA67uYyhZHXK
Class – school in general – was boring without a phone. Hunter didn’t need it for cheating or anything like that but it was nice to play a game or two when classes were dull.
I should’ve grabbed my phone…
It felt odd not having the thing but the recollection of what he saw this morning made him glad he didn’t.
He wasn’t crazy after all.
At least he didn’t think he was.
“Mr. Quinn, are you going to answer the question?”
Said person looked up at the board before flipping through the pages to find where he was supposed to be. “I...um…”
“Page 462, Mr. Quinn. Try to pay attention in my class unless you prefer extra time to do so in detention.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” came the reply.
Making a face as the lesson started up again, Hunter doodled on his notes for the remainder of the class before packing his things up as the bell rang. Jotting down the assignment as he exited the class, he grimaced when Mikey popped out from behind a set of lockers.
“Why do you look like you got detention?”
“How is there a look for that?”
Mikey gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I dunno; you’re the one with the look.”
Hunter merely sucked his teeth as his friend fell into place at his side. “Do you have my work?”
“What kinda person do you take me for?”
“A person that rather watch por-”
“Ok, ok,” the other said, cutting him off. “Jeez, I forget why we’re friends sometimes.”
“That should be my line,” Hunter chided.
“I bring joy and meaning to your life,” Mikey snorted, “as well as finding you a place to sleep during the day since you wanna stay up and be Batman all night.”
“As if,” Hunter said. “You know I’m strictly Marvel.”
“I dunno…you can be broody from time to time.”
“If I’m Batman then you’re the clown,” he taunted back before laughing at the pointed look. “Should I start calling you Joker?”
“I don’t know…” Both turned to see Mitch staring at them pensively with one of his friends. “…I mean you’re the one with blue hair after all, Papa Smurf. If you wanted to be a clown, we could help you and make it green if you like.”
“Mitch, why don’t you and your buddy go fu-”
Hunter patted his companion on the shoulder as he offered a smile at the jocks. “As nice as green hair would be, I think I’d stick to the blue.” He ran a hand through the tresses to prove his point. “Although, I do think a darker shade would’ve been more fitting. A lil' more edgy, you know?”
“Well–”
“At any rate, we should get going to class. See ya’, Mitch. C’mon, Alfred.”
“Yes, Master Bruce,” Mikey snickered as he gave the other pair the finger before chasing after his friend. “You seriously gotta do something about that asshole, mind you. You could totally be Batman.”
“I already told you I like Marvel,” Hunter stated as they walked to their next class. “Besides, me being ok with all this seems to be pissing him off more.”
“Well, it’s pissing me off too.”
Hunter’s gaze drifted over to regard his friend before he just offered a smile. “Well, sorry?” Mikey snorted in annoyance. “You know I don’t like confrontation.”
“Obviously…”
“Let’s not worry about this, ok, Alfred?” he asked before entering his class.
“Yeah, yeah.” The two took their seats respectively as the bell rang. “You’re not going to keep calling me that are you?”
“Are you going to keep addressing me as ‘Papa Smurf’?”
“Maybe…?”
“Alfred, get out your homework and your book before you get in trouble.” Chuckling at the glare given as he pulled his things out, Hunter faced forward as the teacher walked in. “Face forward, Alfred.”
“…hate you,” Mikey muttered as he did as told.
“No you don’t,” he whispered. “I bring joy and meaning to your life.”
"That's my line."
Receiving a snort as the teacher began writing the day’s lesson, both teens silenced themselves as their instructor glanced in their direction.
“Try to do your own homework tonight,” Hunter called from his door. “Lay off the porn!”
“Hunter, jeez!” Mikey shouted, throwing his arms up. “Don’t air another man’s dirty laundry!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you later, Alfred.”
“You said you were into Marvel!”
“Go home, Mikey.”
“Yeah, yeah. I will see you later,” the brunette shouted as he continued up the sidewalk.
Glancing at the empty driveway as he fished around for his keys, Hunter inhaled deeply as he unlocked the door. Exhaling slowly as he entered the quiet home, he looked around slowly as he made his way to the kitchen.
Careful not to make a sound as he rummaged through the drawers for something to defend himself with, Hunter ascended the stairs prior to coming to a stop as he stood in front of his bedroom door.
The thought of the blinds and curtains moving in the morning was enough to make his skin crawl but he couldn’t just avoid going into his room after all.
Stop being a coward…it’s your room.
Nodding at the affirmation, Hunter opened his door slowly, cautiously, before stepping inside. Giving the room a once over, he noticed his phone on laying at the center of a neatly made bed. The idea about how his mother was probably going to give him an earful about cleaning habits was enough to make him grumble.
Scrolling through the notifications to see that his parents weren’t going to be home until late due to date night, Hunter contemplated on what to eat.
“I could order pizza,” he murmured aloud as he continued to go through his phone. “Maybe Chinese?”
“Pizza sounds nice.” A chill worked its way down Hunter’s spine. “Chinese sounds like it may be good too.” The door slammed shut to reveal the identical teen from the mirror. “Since there’s two of us, I suggest getting both.”
“Y…you’re not real.”
The other made a face as they stepped forward. “Oh really?”
“You’re not real.”
“Then why don’t you turn around and say it to my face?”
Tightening his hold on his phone, Hunter stared down at the darkened screen to see an outline of someone standing over his shoulder. Steeling himself the best he could, he turned slowly to be met by an identical face. When the other began to smile, Hunter took a step back before dropping into a seated position after he bumped into his bed. As the other leaned in, smile still in place, another shiver wracked the teen’s spine.
Something was amiss.
Something about the way the other was smiling was making his blood run cold.
“Y…you’re not-”
A hand clamped itself against his mouth as the newcomer continued to lean in. “Oh, I’m quite real, Hunter,” he uttered as he took the phone from the teen, “and I’m a tad hungry so why don’t we order that food?” Hunter stared at his twin. “Or, if you want, I can show you just how real I am.”
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