DOPPELGÄNGER.

In a instant you were out your front door, truly running for your life.

The cold air burned your lungs as you ran.

Barefoot. Barely dressed. The pavement was unforgiving against your feet, every sharp pebble slicing into your skin. The streetlights above flickered dimly, casting long, stretching shadows across the empty road.

But you couldn’t stop.

You couldn’t even think.

Keep running.

Your mind chanted it like a desperate prayer.

Behind you, footsteps—too slow, too measured—stalked you. Not running. Just following.

The moonlight barely touched him, casting his sharp features in eerie shadows. His expression wasn’t one of rage or frustration—but of amusement. Like a hunter watching their prey realize it had no way out.

Mocking you.

Why is he following me? What did I do?

Hell, maybe my time caught up to me. Maybe I’m too pitiful. Or perhaps it was the times I caught myself being jealous of those beautiful girls at school. I knew I shouldn’t have been acting like that, those girls never said a word to me. Maybe Im too quiet and should socialize more. Or it was probably my fault when I never listened to my parents, my karma—

Your breath hitched and cut off your thinking, legs screaming as you veered off the road, rolling down an hill into the trees. You nearly collapsed as you hit the dirt, pushing forward, branches clawing at your arms like hands trying to pull you back. The forest was too dark. Your heart slammed against your ribs.

And then—a voice.

—"That’s enough running, love."

You froze. The air around you shifted, thick and charged, like a storm was about to break.

And then, he was there.

Leaning casually against a tree. Smiling.

Like he hadn’t been chasing you through the night like a predator playing with its prey.

Your breath left you in a sharp gasp

—“Who are you?! What do you want!"

The man tilted his head, studying you with amused interest. Like you were some strange puzzle he hadn’t quite figured out.

—"You really don’t know, do you?"

Your pulse hammered.

—"I don’t know what you’re talking about," you whispered, every instinct in your body screaming at you to run again—but you knew it was useless.

You had felt it. Seen it.

No one could move that fast. No one could just... appear.

He took a slow step forward, and it was almost worse than if he had lunged at you. His movements were too deliberate, too controlled. Like he already knew how this would end. But before you could even process your own fear—

Something slammed into him.

A blur of motion—too fast to follow—sent him crashing into the ground. Klaus barely had time to turn before someone collided into him with an earth-shattering force. The two figures tumbled into the underbrush, a blur of movement too fast to follow. Leaves and dirt exploded into the air as they hit the ground, one man pinning down the other—but only for a second.

You stumbled backward, heart hammering as another figure materialized in your eyes in front of you.

Stefan.

His stance was tense, protective in a way you could see. His chest heaved like he had barely gotten there in time, almost out of breath.

—"Let her go, Klaus," Stefan warned.

The man you presumed to be called Klaus, laughing as he stood, dusted off his jacket like he hadn’t just been thrown into the dirt full force.

—"No need to be rude, Stefan. We were just getting acquainted, only saying hello." he mused, eyes gleaming. Then, to you, "We’ll talk soon, love."

And then—he was gone with a blink.

Just... gone..?

Your knees gave out before you even realized what happened threatening to hit the hard dirt floor.

Stefan caught you, his grip strong, grounding. But you jerked away, scrambling back, because nothing made sense anymore.

—"What—" Your voice broke. You shook your head. "What the hell was that?! Holy shit have I gone crazy. This has to be a nightmare—"

Stefan exhaled harshly. "You need to come with me. Now."

You backed away. "No. No way. Who was that?! And what—what kind of psycho can just vanish like that?!"

Stefan hesitated, like he was choosing his words carefully. "His name is Klaus. And if you don’t come with me right now, he’ll come back. And next time, I might not be fast enough."

Your blood ran cold.

A part of you screamed not to trust him, that is man is insane or you’ve truly gone mad. Stefan. Klaus? They were the same. Weren’t they? They shared the same crazy speed that when you blinked they were 50 feet from where they just were.

But...

Klaus had chased you. And Stefan had stopped him.

That had to mean something, right?

Your mind tried to process everything that had just happened in the span of 10 minutes. This was to much information to take in. Your parents really would take you to a mental hospital this time if this was all your mind. Swallowing hard, you forced yourself to nod for your own sanity.

— “Fine.”

—————: ̗̀➛

The ride to Stefan’s house in his car was silent.

Your body was still shaking, every muscle locked in panic.

But your mind?

Your mind was spiraling.

Who the hell is Klaus? What is Stefan? What did I do to deserve this? Dragged into this situation and involved in an almost murder case 20 minutes ago.

The car stopped abruptly, and you barely registered Stefan opening the car and leading your body inside, sitting you down in a dimly lit room filled with old books.

You barely registered him pacing in-front of you , like he didn’t know how to start. You barely felt the warmth of the room around you. Everything felt distant, muted, like you were floating outside your own body. Your hands were still trembling. No matter how many times you curled them into fists, they wouldn’t stop shaking.

Then he turned to you.

—"You’re a doppelgänger."

The words landed like a slap.

—"A what?"

Stefan ran a hand through his hair, exhaling like he had been here before. "A doppelgänger. You’re... part of a bloodline that’s been repeating for centuries. A supernatural copy of someone who came before you."

You blinked.

Stared.

Then laughed—hysterical, raw, terrified.

—"You think I’m a what?"

A doppelgänger? The word felt foreign hearing it directed to you. Like it wasn’t real. Like it was something out of a book, not something that could possibly apply to you.

Stefan’s jaw tensed. "I know this is a lot to take in—"

—"No, no, you don’t get to say that," you snapped, shaking now. "Because I just got chased through the night by a lunatic, and now you’re sitting here telling me I’m some supernatural clone—do you hear yourself?! Are you mental or what Stefan cause I’m sure it isn’t me now?!"

Stefan took a slow step forward.

—"Listen to me," he said, voice firm, urgent. "This is serious. Klaus is dangerous. And he’s after you because of what you are."

Your breath was coming too fast. The walls felt too small.

—"You’re insane," you whispered. "You’re both insane."

You bolted up from the couch you were on, running out any open door you saw.

You didn’t think—you just moved. Your body acted before your brain caught up, legs propelling you toward the front door, toward the only thing that made sense—getting the hell out of there.

But Stefan was too fast. The moment your fingers brushed the doorknob, a strong arm wrapped around your wrist, yanking you back.

You whirled, shoving against his chest, but it was like trying to move a wall.

—"Let me go!" you gasped, struggling.

But his grip was gentle, unyielding.

—"I can’t," he said, his voice sharp with frustration. "If you leave, you’ll die. Do you understand that? Klaus will come for you. You don’t get to just walk away from this."

Your breath hitched.

Tears burned your eyes, but you forced them back. This was too much to take in.

— "I didn’t ask for this," you choked out, pressing your hands against your temples. "No. I go to school. I have a normal life. This—doesn’t make sense..?" you whispered.

Stefan’s face softened—just barely till the irritation took over again. "I know."

The fight drained from your body, exhaustion crashing over you.

You took a step back, You wrapped your arms around yourself, breathing unevenly, your mind racing in a hundred different directions. You didn’t even realize you were shaking until Stefan slowly let you go.

Klaus. Doppelgängers. A world that wasn’t supposed to exist. Told in tales of fantasy movies you’d seen.

You weren’t crazy. This was real. All of it.

And there was no escaping it.

Klaus had chased you. Stefan had saved you. But you didn’t feel saved.

You felt hunted.

Your voice was barely a whisper.

—"What world did I just get dragged into?"

Stefan didn’t answer.

Because you both knew—there was no going back.