The eye of a little god

A couple of hours, or so, earlier:

The drowsy numbness slipped from Ethan's mind as he gently stirred out of sleep. Keeping his eyes closed, he lay very still, and listened to his breathing. He didn't feel very well. He had an awful headache and a nagging pain in his stomach. Was this the after effect of that potion? Well, it could have been worse. For all he knew, it was worse than that, but at this point he was feeling rather too fragile to even explore that possibility. Better just to lie quietly and hope that it would wear off.

He concentrated on relaxing. His alarm hadn't gone off, so it must still be early. Maybe it was early enough to try to go back to sleep. His bed was warm, cosy, and comfortable. That's what he'd focus on. Not this ill feeling. He gave a little sigh and snuggled his head a little deeper into his pillow. He listened to the regular quiet sighs of the house. It was almost as if it breathed in and out. He felt a warm breeze play across his lips and face. He smiled. That was nice. Maybe the so far cold spring was turning the corner towards summer.

After a while, though, he felt as awake as ever. Something about his bed didn't feel right. It was like he was lying on it for the first time, and wasn't used to its curves and dips. He shifted his body slightly. As he did so, he felt his knee brush against something in the bed. That was odd…

He moved his foot, and, through the hole in his sock, his big toe hit on something solid and … foot-like. A tremor ran through him. Was there someone else there? Who? Or, perhaps, what? He was too afraid of the possible consequences to open his eyes. And that breeze on his face, and the sighing of the house – that was someone as well. His mind flew back to the previous night. He'd mistakenly taken the potion, and then Benny had brought him home and helped him to bed. What had happened then? He hadn't –they hadn't - ?

No. That was something that he would have remembered. He definitely would have remembered that. All he remembered was getting into bed – and Benny had just gone home again, hadn't he? There was no way that he would have stayed the night. And not in his bed. That would be wrong. Although, of course, he reasoned, if it was Benny, that would be more reassuring than if it wasn't. But it still could be nothing. Just his imagination, putting together sleepy tricks on his senses. There might be nobody else in the bed at all. No-one sleeping just a few inches away. No-one that might –

Tentatively, eyes screwed tightly shut in the hope that it was all in his head, Ethan extended a hand. For a glorious moment it sailed through empty air, giving Ethan hope that he hadn't done something that he would regret. And then it landed on something soft and warm. Oh God… Ethan thought, his heart plummeting. Mustering all his courage, knowing that he'd better face up to whatever it was that might have happened, Ethan forced his eyes open.

A pair of brown eyes flickered open stared back at him over the crumpled pillow, curtained with a shock of dark hair. Ethan stared, his eyes bulging, and mouth dry. "Uh…" he gurgled inarticulately.

The boy opposite smiled dazedly, and then delicately removed Ethan's arm from his shoulder, before mirroring exactly the look of stunned surprise. Exactly, down to every last crease and dimple.

Ethan stared at Ethan in horror.

Each Ethan eyed the other warily. There was a long pause as they both processed the information.

"Aargh!" they both cried, springing away from each other, and simultaneously toppling out of the bed and onto the floor with identical thumps.

They picked themselves up and stood looking at each other over the narrow bed. Before either one of them could speak, though, there was the sound of movement from the landing. Instinctively, the Ethan on the far side of the room ducked behind the bed, just in time, as Ethan's mum opened the door.

"Are you alright, Ethan?" she asked, flicking on the bedroom light.

He smiled weakly back at her, hoping desperately that she wouldn't see the shadow of his double. "I'm fine, Mum, I just fell out of bed after a bad dream."

She nodded, and glanced across at the clock. 5:45. "Well, dear, if you're sure that you're OK, then you go back to bed and try and sleep some more."

He nodded obediently and got back under the covers. "Night, Mum!" he said, as she turned off the light and closed the door.

After a moment or so, there was a movement in the bed beside him, and he felt the other Ethan slip into bed beside him.

"Hey!" hissed Ethan, springing up and switching on the bedside light.

"What?" said the other. "I'm supposed to lie on the floor until morning?"

Ethan shook his head. "We need to –"

"- talk about this," finished Ethan. "I know." He put his finger to his lips. "But quietly. We don't want anyone catching us again."

Ethan smiled wanly. "Don't worry. I'll be able to say I was talking to myself."

Smiling at his own joke, the other Ethan stood up as well. They faced off in the middle of the room. One walked slowly around the other, taking in every detail. They were exactly the same, even down to the hole in their socks.

When he had finished his circuit, Ethan frowned. "So we're the same… But – how – why – have you got the same clothes as me? OK, I can sort of understand the biological doubling, but copying things that aren't part of me? It makes no sense."

The other one shrugged. "Would you have preferred to find me in your bed with no clothes on?"

The first Ethan grimaced. "Actually, on second thoughts, I'm fine with the logical inconsistency…"

"Anyway," said the second, "why am I the copy? It could just as easily be you."

Ethan opened and closed his mouth, searching for an answer. "Well – uh – have you got my personality, my memories…?"

"Do you?"

They stared warily at each other.

"What's my favourite colour?" shot one.

"Blue-green. What did I want to be when I was five?"

"A train driver. What did I want to be before that?"

Ethan blushed. "A train…"

"When did I first meet Rory?"

"In the school playground when I was eight. He'd just moved to Whitechapel and it was his first day. He'd forgotten his lunch, so Benny and I shared ours with him."

"That started a trend…" grinned Ethan. The other one smiled.

"Yeah…" He narrowed his eyes. "What happened last night?"

"Benny and I went to the cinema, met the others, came back to his house, I accidentally had some of the potion, Benny saw me back home, I went up to bed and fell asleep. Then someone kicked my foot, I woke up, and you were there."

They both nodded. "So …. Satisfied with the catechism?"

They nodded again. "We definitely have had the same experiences. Are we the same person, then?"

"Well, we're both independent, right? We move and think differently. I can't control you, and you can't control me?"

"Excepting the degree to which we around governed by having the same personality, I agree – but we've only just become independent."

"Where there was one Ethan, there are now two?"

"And neither is more the 'real' Ethan than the other."

"Right… Does this make your head hurt?"

The other nodded. This is going to be an odd day, thought Ethan.

"I know," replied the other.

Ethan stared at him. "Did you –"

"- read your mind? No, but we are going to think similarly."

"What now? We wait, I suppose, and tell the others."

"Mmm. This should come as a surprise to them."

Rather awkwardly, the two Ethan's sat down on the edge of the bed and waited for the clock to tick a little closer to morning.

Eventually, the sounds of their parents stirring gave them the signal to start the day.

"Obviously we can't be seen together," pointed out Ethan.

Ethan nodded. "Not by Mum and Dad, no."

"And if we want to save money, we'll keep Jane in the dark, too."

Ethan nodded and went over to the cupboard. "I don't have two sets of everything."

"I know."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Yes. But I've got some very similar jeans. We'll just have to swap jumpers or something."

"For what?" asked Ethan.

"Breakfast?" suggested the other one. "I don't intend going hungry."

"No. Two mouths to feed, and all that."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Eating for two. There really are lots of opportunities for puns in this situation, aren't there?"

Ethan nodded. "Yep. Now, I'm going to have the first shower. See you in a bit."

"I'd bet on it…"

A while later, Ethan was waiting in the cubicle from the day before. He glanced at his watch. Where was he? After a moment, there was a tentative rap on the door. He unbolted it, and let himself in.

"What kept you?" he hissed.

"I waited and waited for Benny, but he never showed up. Have you got the rat?"

Ethan nodded, and patted his wriggling bag. "Right here. One of the few that Rory hasn't eaten yet. This should clear the hall."

"OK, well, they should be here in a minute. You go out, and, when the others are together, let the rat out."

"I know, I know! It is my plan."

The other Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Sort of…" said Ethan. "Well, two minutes after you hear the screams, you come up from the other side. If this is going to happen, we may as well have some fun with it."

Ethan nodded. "Good luck!"

Ethan left the toilets, and pressed himself against a bank of lockers. Yes, there Benny was, heading towards Rory and Sarah. He knelt down and undid his bag. The rat scampered free.

Amid the confusion and rather unnecessary shrieking, Ethan calmly made his way across the hall to where the other four were staring fascinatedly at the rat.

He leaned over Rory's shoulder and feigned surprise. "What's with the rat?"

Opposite him, the other Ethan walked silently over the now deserted hall, and, while the others listened to Rory's confused theories on the rat, and Ethan, and ventriloquism, positioned himself directly behind Benny.

Ethan smiled. There was his cue.

"Ethan isn't a ventriloquist."