Doubles

Chapter One

Newt

Newt was relieved when he came home from the Safe Haven. It meant that Thomas' dreams were finally over and everything would start going back to normal.

Or so he thought.

It started after Newt said goodbye to his friends from The Right Arm. Then his grandmother picked him up and said they had to get some groceries before heading home.

He didn't mind though. In fact, he was happy to do something normal with his Gran.

Before Tommy figured out how to cure him from the Flare, the only thing Newt could do was slowly go insane while trying not to hurt his friends and family in the process.

The change was nice.

Until everything started going wrong again.

He was just grabbing a carton of milk to bring back to his Gran when he saw Tommy standing a few paces away with his back turned.

Newt smiled. He hadn't expected to see his friend so soon.

"Tommy!" He called, walking over. "Surprised to see you."

But Thomas didn't turn around.

As Newt got closer, he realized his friend looked slightly different. His hair was spiked unlike Thomas' soft waves. And this boy's body looked scrawnier than Tommy's too.

"Tommy?" Newt asked hesitantly. The boy still wasn't responding.

Something was definitely wrong.

He tapped the boy on the shoulder and he finally turned around.

Newt gaped at him. This definitely wasn't his Tommy. But it looked so close to his friend that it was almost scary.

Their faces were completely identical, though this boy wore an easy grin unlike Thomas' usual worried frown. His brown hair was styled into a quiff whereas Tommy just left his messy. But the moles down their neck and face were exactly the same. Not just similar. Exactly. The. Same.

Newt took it back. It was definitely scary.

"You aren't Tommy," Newt blurted out, unable to take his eyes off of the strange lookalike in front of him.

The boy frowned. "What?"

"Is this some sort of joke?" Newt asked, dread filling his gut. "Because it's really not funny, Tommy."

"Look, I have no idea what you're talking about," the boy said, shaking his head in confusion. "My name isn't Tommy. My name is Stiles."