Doubles

Chapter Twenty Eight

Thomas

"Minho!" Thomas called, walking around the outside of the building as he searched for his friend. "Malia? Come on, where are you guys!"

Before their friends went missing, Thomas and the others came up with the plan to follow the band to their hotel. The only problem was they couldn't leave without Minho or Malia. Who were still nowhere to be found.

He sighed. "We really don't have time for this!" He complained. "And I didn't think the two of you got along."

"We don't," said a voice from behind, making him jump. Thomas turned around to see Minho standing there along with Malia, Tate, and what appeared to be the band.

"Yeah," Malia agreed. "Now we just tolerate each other. Anyway, I think you need to talk to someone?" She put a hand on Paul's shoulders and moved him closer.

Thomas tried not to gape at the boy. Of course, he's seen the double on stage, but up close was so much different. He looked so different from Newt but, at the same time, exactly the same.

Paul stuck out his hand. "Good to meet you, I s'pose. I'm Paul." He even sounds like Newt, though his accent was a little heavier.

"Uh, Thomas," Thomas introduced, gripping the other boy's hand. "Seems like you already met Minho and Malia but you need to come meet the rest of our friends. We have a lot to talk about, trust me."

Paul nodded. "So I've heard. Come on, boys." He gestured for the rest of his band to follow him towards the entrance. As they walked, Thomas fell into pace with Minho.

"What exactly did you tell him?" He asked. "And more importantly, how did you keep them from leaving?"

Minho's mouth twitched as he tried to not smile. "You don't want to know."

He was probably right so Thomas decided to let Newt ask later. The good news was that it worked and Paul seemed unharmed. That was something, at least.

As the six rounded the corner, he saw Newt in the distance, still looking for their friends. When his eyes landed on Thomas and the others, he immediately jogged over, his limp barely noticeable.

"Where have you been?" Newt demanded, glaring at Minho and Malia. Well, mostly Minho. Okay, just Minho. "I thought we decided not to kidnap the double."

"What?" Minho asked incredulously. "How did you know that's-"

"Can you two stop," Paul snapped, stepping forward. "I just want to find out what you know about my dreams so . . ." He let his words fade out, gaping at Newt.

Thomas couldn't help but stare at the two as well. To a normal person, they would just look slightly similar, since the biggest difference was their hair. But to anyone who knew Newt, they were clearly exactly the same. Paul's jaw curved the same way Newt's did and both of their eyes had slight crinkles when they smiled. They were both slender but Newt was clearly more fit. Other than that, and their hair, there were no differences.

One of the band members, John, Thomas remembered, let out a long whistle after a moment.

"When these two said they needed to talk." He gestured to Minho and Malia. "I didn't think it'd be anything like this," he said.

"Yeah," the other, George, agreed, looking back and forth between Newt and Paul in confusion. "I thought this was about the dreams though."

"They are," Thomas answered, finally tearing his eyes away from the doubles. "But we need to find the rest of our friends before we explain."

"I'll do it," Malia offered. "Then we should head somewhere else. There's probably too many fans here for us to talk privately."

"Good idea," John agreed. "But where should we go?"

"Easy," Minho answered with a grin. "When in doubt, get some pizza."

~~~

A few minutes later, everyone had split up between Stiles' jeep and Paul's van to head to the pizza restaurant Minho suggested. Thomas ended up squished between Newt and the door again, though the blonde was so still he could have been mistaken for another wall.

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked his friend. He still appeared to be in shock or something. It was starting to worry him.

"It's just bloody crazy," Newt muttered, barely loud enough for him to hear. "It's like looking at yourself in a mirror for the first time." He turned to look at Thomas. "Are my ears really that big?"

He couldn't help it, he laughed. "Your ears are fine, Newt. I think you're just freaking out more than I did since we don't have the initial problem of Minho and Malia."

His friend snorted and Thomas was thankful to see his shift in mood. "They might not be fighting, but they're still a problem," Newt said.

"Hey!" Minho protested from the other side of him. "We got the job done. You should be thanking us."

Newt rolled his eyes in response. "You can't just kidnap people, Min."

"I didn't kidnap him," Minho argued. "I was just-"

"For such great friends, you guys argue a lot," Stiles interrupted. "Yes, generally kidnapping is bad but today kidnapping was good. Thank you, end of story, roll credits."

"But-"

"He's right," Lydia agreed from the passenger seat. "Even though I don't agree with kidnapping, we have bigger problems on our hands right now."