"this is a stupid idea." you sigh in exasperation as you follow adrian, walking on a footpath near his home in another dimension. "what if the other you is a lunatic? i mean… even you you are a lunatic… "
he pauses, eyebrows scrunching together and turns to look at you slowly, his head tilted to the side in offence, "me me is a lunatic?" he repeats incredulously, his gloved hands on his hips. you can't see his face through the visor, but you just know he's pulling that confused and pitiful look he does when he doesn't understand something. you let out a puff of air in annoyance at the man. does he seriously not understand how odd and unpredictable he can be sometimes? you nod slowly at him as if he were a toddler.
adrian scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief, as if what you said was the most absurd thing he had heard in his life. "yeah? well, you you are a… you're a… you know what? you're a-"
"oh my god! holy shit! it's vigilante!" a voice, far too similiar to your own squeals from the distance. both you and adrian whip your heads to where it came from and your jaw drops open. "what. the. fuck," you whisper slowly to yourself, eyes wide as you stare at the figure clapping excitedly as they run recklessly across the road.
it's you. well, this dimensions you. you look the same but also… different. your hair is a few inches shorter, your face looks less tired, and your clothes look more reserved. you stare without blinking for a few seconds, stuck in a trance when adrian begins to laugh out loud from your right, jumping in place, waving his hand at the other you excitedly. "holy shit, hey! it's you! It's other you!"
your shake your head, trying to get yourself together, grabbing his arm to yank it down and prevent him from waving any more. "stop doing that."
the other you waves back with a beam on their face, slowing down their steps to stand in front of the both of you, their eyes completely glued onto adrian in shock. its kind of creepy how happy and obsessed you look.
"vigilante! i- i can't believe it! it's really you! i don't have anything for you to sign but… wow… you're tall in person! just like all the reddit forums said! and buff too! i knew @ pe4cemakersleft4sscheek was lying when they said you were skinny!"
great. so you're some kind of fangirl here? you don't know if this counts as first or secondhand embarrassment.
adrian immediately puffs up at the praise, crossing his arms over his chest to make his muscles look even bigger. he pauses once he realises what they said. "waaaait. huh? a peacemaker fan said that? awe man, i knew i should've been doing those chest exercises that chr- i mean peacemaker sent me! hey, how about a selfie? wait, do you guys have phones here?"
you cannot believe this. he's seriously having a conversation with you, while you're stood right next to him. you shake your head, turning around and rubbing your palms along your face in annoyance, pacing slightly. you need space. this is just too fucking weird. "a selfie?! shit, yes please! of course i have a phone, duh! i follow you on twitter and instagram."
thats where you decide to zone out, walking down the footpath again to let them do… whatever they're doing. theres no way you can stand there and listen to the other you act this way. you don't even really like adrian. okay, that's a lie. he's funny. sometimes. and he's a good friend too. but theres something about him that makes you pull away for whatever reason. like when you were plastered at harcourt's a few days ago, vomiting your guts out. you remember he insisted on holding your hair away from your face, your cheeks felt hot when you felt his fingertips on your head and you tried desperately to look away from him. you blame the alcohol.
or that same night when adebayo and economos were pouring beer all over his half naked body as if it was funny. it wasn't funny at all! it gave you this weird buzzing feeling in your stomach and chest. you couldn't watch any longer, deciding look away and drink even more. you think the guy makes you feel sick. yeah. thats it. he makes you sick! its probably because of his weird personality or something, right? what else could it possibly be?
it could be his annoyingly overexcited voice.
"haha! oh my god, that was amazing! that was my first fan encounter and it was you! that's priceless!" adrian perks from beside you, jogging to catch up to your brisk steps. "and, hey, I know I'm like, totally clueless when it comes to these things, but i'm pretty sure they had a crush on me. they asked to squeeze my bicep in the picture. obviously i said no, because that'd be weird as hell. but they still asked!"
your eyes narrow, looking up to faintly see his eyes through the red visor. "pfft. a crush on you?! no way. don't be ridiculous… if they're anything like me, then deep down they can't stand you. trust me."
thats what you tell yourself, at least.