Fake, Fake Psychotropic
Chapter 2 – Whirling
Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I don't own any of it; I'm just in it for the Romerica ;)
Warning: Crazy!Alfred, male x male pairings, harsh language, and AU.
Thanks for the feedback on chapter 1! This time we get to see a little more of the Hero's life and why he made the wish he did, but with actual dialogue this time! :)
oOo
In the middle of the crowd, stood a teenage boy about 5'10 with messy blond hair, a strong build, and a big grin. Alfred's shock registered in the boy's sky blue eyes, half hidden behind a set of rectangular-rimmed glasses.
He was a perfect imitation of himself.
"You look just like me…" Alfred gaped, standing face to face with…himself.
"That's the idea," the imitation said with Alfred's trademark grin.
Alfred continued to stare in shock. Everyone else walked around him, too distracted by the car accident to pay any attention to them. A hundred people on the sidewalk and not a one noticed Alfred and his Fake.
"I'm here to switch places with you, bro," the second Alfred told him with a cheery salute. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior, so you can go play and relax."
Alfred was still a little bewildered, but it had been a strange morning already. Honestly, he was still a little beat from staying up so late the night before catching up on homework. Which was what he was also doing the night before that…and the night before that. He could use a break. Sure, why not take him up on the offer? Not like his day could get any weirder.
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Can't argue with that!" Alfred gave him a high-five and turned back around.
"Hold up," the doppelganger spoke up.
"Aw, man…Already having second thoughts?" Alfred frowned, turning back around. He knew this deal was too good to be true.
"Of course not!" the other laughed, extending an arm. "I just need your backpack and homework. We have a paper due in Biology, right?"
"Oh, right!" Alfred handed over the bag. "Whew! Good looking out! I wouldn't have even thought of that!"
"No problem."
"So…you know where to go for all my classes and stuff?"
"Yep."
"Uh…how?"
"I'm you," the blonde poked him in the shoulder. "So, relax. I got this."
Shrugging off his stroke of good luck, Alfred thanked his other self again and headed back home to return to sleeping in, video games, leftover pancakes, and being lazy in general. He planned on making the most of his unexpected day off and with his parents both out of town for work; he had no chance of getting caught.
Not twenty minutes later, found Alfred slumped in front of the TV in his pajama pants, game controller in one hand, plate of syrupy pancakes in the other. He was hard at work, but this time at Tales of Final Dreams XIV, the RPG he'd been waiting for ages to play. It had practically been burning a hole on his dresser, where it had been forced to lay for a week with the other video games Alfred didn't have time for.
"Best day ever…" Alfred sighed happily as the opening credits finished and he was free to run around.
While sending the main character off to talk to random townspeople, the option to name his character came up. Alfred typed in HERO, since the character was supposed to be an extension of himself…kind of like his double.
"I wonder how he's doing…?" the blonde wondered out loud.
He realized he never really gave his imitation a name, despite his hugely important mission. Sure, he could call himself 'Alfred' when undercover, but what was the real Alfred supposed to call him while they were talking, just the two of them? His attention flickered back to the character cleaving snakes and some kind of rock thing in half with his sword. The technical term for the protagonist would be 'Avatar' but that only worked for video games. It sounded strange in real life.
"What else am I supposed to call him?"
'Doppelganger' was a mouthful and 'Twin' made no sense because of his actual twin brother, Matthew. 'Clone' just sounded weird. 'Double' could work, but it had too many double-meanings and might get confusing. Besides, this was kind of like a secret mission and his other self was like a secret agent. He didn't want to accidentally call him a double agent!
After the battle tutorial was over and Alfred was done watching his beloved peasant village burn to the ground (damn you, Blattellan Empire!), the American settled on the codename of 'Fake' for the other Alfred. 'Fake' was simple enough and fitting. With that dilemma settled, Alfred could return his full attention on rescuing his childhood friend, finding true love, and taking down the tyrannical Blattellan Empire.
oOo
At about 4:00 his phone went off, the alarm reminding him it was time to get ready for work. It startled him for a second, having forgotten he still had it on him. After shutting it off, he hoped his Fake was okay without it. He could probably just fib about leaving it home on accident again…Alfred was always forgetting something with all the things he balanced on his brain.
Alfred quickly changed his clothes and changed into one of his spare work uniforms, consisting of black slacks, a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up (a look he borrowed from Lovino), and a black vest. He didn't have to worry about the long waiter's apron because they kept those on site. Not that Alfred minded, less laundry for him! He haphazardly tied the ribbon around his collar on his way out the door, already acknowledging the fact that Lovino would give him a hard time about it at work and have to re-tie it for him.
Alfred didn't mind that either.
Quickly making his way out the front door, he caught himself nearly shouting goodbye to whoever was in the house. He'd have to break that habit if he and his Fake were going to keep up their secret mission. Lucky for him, nobody was home today. Alfred continued on his way to work. The brisk pace probably wasn't necessary, but he missed hanging out with all his friends at school, so he was eager to see the ones he worked with at Cat's Eye Restaurant. He had nearly made it, when somebody suddenly pulled him into the alleyway a block away from the restaurant. Thinking it was a mugger, Alfred brought his arms up to defend himself.
"What are you doing here?!" a familiar voice hissed to him. Alfred hadn't realized how harsh his own voice could sound until he was standing face to face with his Fake again.
"Working…?" Alfred replied, bringing his hands down to their casual position in his pockets.
"I told you I'd cover for you, remember?" his Fake laughed, all traces of annoyance had left his tone.
"Well, I don't really mind my job, I get to see Lovi there, after all…" He blurted out, then covered his mouth for exposing his secret, even if it was to his other self.
"Lovi…?" the second Alfred tilted his head to the side while the original blushed and waved it off quickly.
"Er, I mean Lovino! He hates it when I call him Lovi!" he forced himself to take a calming breath. It wasn't like his Fake was going to go around telling people about his crush on Lovino. "I actually want to work tonight, but you can go start our homework, if you're so eager."
"Of course," he replied before leaving to complete it. "Say hi to…Lovi for me."
"Dude, you can't call him that or he'll kick you in the shin!" Alfred whispered back in concern. He was speaking from experience. "Just what kind of memories do you have, anyway?"
"Enough," was all he said.
Alfred made it the rest of the way to work (without the threat of getting mugged by his double) mulling over how much 'enough' meant. Did his Fake only know things he'd said and done? What about his thoughts? It was all very confusing for the blonde, so he pushed it to the back of his mind for later. He opened the door and waved to his friends. Helen, their hostess/manager/drama queen informed him that he would have Section 2 tonight. Alfred had forgotten she was working tonight. It was always more fun when her younger brother, Heracles, was left in charge. The Karpusi family owned the restaurant, but Helen seemed to think she owned the employees as well. After a pit stop to the Wait Staff Station to pick up his apron for the night, the American joined the circle of waiters near the main counter.
"I still can't believe they didn't find him…" Bella said, her usual cat-like smile nowhere to be seen.
"It's scary…" Mei agreed, crossing her arms as if to ward off a shudder.
Choosing to listen for a clue as to what they were going on about, Alfred came up empty-handed. Between his friends and his current table, all everyone could talk about was some mysterious missing person. Alfred felt bad because the fate of the poor guy wasn't sounding good.
"Was a missing person found dead or something?" he finally asked.
"Al, you were at school, you know what we're talking about," his younger brother answered him.
"O-Oh, right!" He tried to cover it up. "Of course I do!"
Alfred realized he forgot to ask his Fake how school went today. He wouldn't make that mistake again. Calling dibs on the next group of customers, Alfred took any excuse he could to escape the discussion before he dug his proverbial grave any deeper. The blonde ended up playing detective to get the rest of the details. Between his friends and random conversations he overheard his customers discuss, Alfred was able to piece together the gist of it.
Apparently, some nutjob ran into the middle of traffic and got himself killed. It was odd because the guy was most certainly dead from the instant impact, but no body was found. There was plenty of blood, enough to indicate death, but no body. The victim couldn't have walked away or snuck off unseen, so it was a huge mystery. Everybody was so busy with their own lives, that nobody could identify the missing person either. Some vaguely recall a young male, but nothing more than that.
"That's terrible…" Mei looked down. "I can't believe people were so self-absorbed they didn't even notice the guy who died right in front of them."
"It's the world we live in," Kiku shrugged, but also looked a little distant. "People pay more attention to their phone than the person standing next to them."
"I heard the police don't have any leads, since nobody saw it and it was a smaller intersection with no traffic cameras," Bella frowned. "I hope they solve it soon."
"Yeah…" Matthew nodded.
Alfred was about to add something to the conversation, when he noticed Lovino looked pale. Pale and quiet. Two of the least-fitting adjectives for his tsundere friend. Was he coming down with something? A cold? The flu?
"You feeling alright, Lovino?" he asked.
"I'm fine, bastard," the brunette huffed, but still looked a little shaken.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, now stop asking."
"Is it about the frog we have to dissect in Biology this Friday?" Kiku asked.
"You got me," Lovino rolled his eyes.
"Really?" Alfred asked.
"Something about cutting up dead things doesn't sit well with me…" the brunette cringed. "I figure that's less psychotic than actually looking forward to it."
"Right, but if we have to chop up a dead frog and dig around its guts, there isn't anyone I'd rather do it with than you," Alfred joked, nudging the Italian's shoulder. "At least you'll have your trusty lab partner at your side!"
"Ugh…don't remind me."
Alfred chuckled a bit, recalling how he nearly tackled Ivan for foolishly blocking his path to claim Lovino as his lab partner before anyone else did. He had expected Antonio to put up more of a struggle, but Elizabeta accidentally spilled water on him, distracting him enough for Alfred to call dibs. If that wasn't divine intervention, he didn't know what was. The blonde was about to ask Lovino something else about their project, when he noticed the troubled look hadn't left the tsundere's eyes (even if he did a really good job of covering it up with a scowl). This was odd; Lovino didn't seem to have a problem when they had to dissect a pig's heart earlier in the semester.
"Arthur told me to just pretend it's Francis."
"That…doesn't help, bastard."
Lovino quickly left to check on his two tables, leaving Alfred to scratch his head. He wondered what was bothering the Italian. He managed to change the conversation when Lovino returned from taking out a tray of appetizers to his first table.
"How'd I do?" Alfred asked, from his position near the main door, straightening menus.
"Huh?"
"It's a cute bow, right?" the blonde smiled, pointing to the ribbon around his collar. One loop was longer than the other, but it was still one of his better attempts. "Nice tie job, huh?"
"It's terrible…" Lovino sighed, shooting him an exasperated grin. "Let me fix it before you make an even bigger idiot out of yourself…"
"But I thought I did a good job, this time!"
"A fucking three year old could do a better job than that!" Lovino carefully wound the thin cord around his hand as he readjusted it.
"It can't be that bad!" Alfred looked away, pouting. He secretly tried to watch Lovino's long, graceful fingers fly through loops with professional ease out of the corner of his eye.
"The next time my half-brother's in town, I'll have him prove otherwise."
"But that's not fair!"
"Why not?"
"Marcello's five years old!"
This got a laugh out of the stubborn Italian and both returned to work, the mood having lightened considerably. It ended up being surprisingly busy for a Tuesday, but Alfred still tried chatting with Lovino whenever he got the chance. The main floor of Cat's Eye was quite large, but the area for the wait staff was limited. With Helen being the hostess tonight, the staff mostly stuck to doing actual work. Their invented games of Condiment Shots, Binball, and silverware wrapping races would have to wait for another night.
By the end of his shift, Alfred had made over 70 dollars in tips. It really paid off that he had a bunch of families that tipped well and that they didn't have as many servers tonight as they normally do for crowds like this on the weekend. He even felt pretty good for all the running around he did. Having the morning off really helped him relax and recharge! All in all, it was a good day for Alfred. He couldn't wait to get home and ask his Fake about how school went and come up with a game plan for tomorrow.
"H-Hey, bas-uh, Alfred?"
"Yeah, Lovino?" the blonde's ears perked up at the sound of the Italian's voice. "What's up?"
"Nothing, just…well, it's been a crazy day, so just…just be careful on your way home, got it?" Lovino told him, his cheeks turning an interesting shade of red. "N-Not that I care or anything, you're so spacey, anything could happen to you…"
"Aww, that's so sweet of you to worry about little ole' me!" Alfred couldn't help but grin. Deep down, he was happy to be getting the extra attention from Lovino. The brunette didn't usually openly show he cared like this.
"I-I'm not worried about you, dammit!" he roared. "I was just—Chigi!"
Alfred chuckled as the flustered brunette threw his hands up, snarled something else in Italian, and stormed off. Lovino often spoke a separate language with his hands (to the point where it looked like he and his brother could hold entire conversations in their own brand of Italian Sign Language once they got going), so Alfred had taken it upon himself to start inventing his own translations. He decided that one meant 'Alfred is my one true hero and I'm so worried about him!'
"Heh…I wish."
oOo
A/N
Marcello is a younger version of Seborga for those of you who were wondering. Helen is my version of a spoiled fem!Greece (who will be acting as Heracles's older sister). I went with Helen because in Greek myths, Helen of Troy (the most beautiful woman) and Heracles (a famous Greek hero) are half-siblings. They share a dad (Zeus) with Leda being Helen's mother and Alcmene being Heracles's mother…not that you particularly care. Heh, I just like mythology ^^
It was a fairly laidback chapter, but will pick up soon. We'll also find out more about the Fake in the next chapter, since he didn't get a whole lot of screen time in this chapter. Is he trustworthy or not? Hmm…
-Rajikka
Translations:
Tales of Final Dreams XIV – A spoof on the Tales series and the Final Fantasy series. Both are popular RPG franchises in Japan. If you read Irresistible and Oblivious, you might recognize the name too. I just re-used it here because I'm lazy like that :P
Blattellan – Modified from the scientific name for 'cockroach' ('blattella'). Since the video game came from Japan in Irresistible and Oblivious, I tried to think of something he didn't like to be the evil empire.
Tsundere – A tsundere is a type of character seen in anime or manga known for appearing cold or hostile, but having a hidden sweet side. "Tsun Tsun" is the aloof or irritable side, while "Dere Dere" is the lovey dovey side. (Jp.)
