Subconscious (Anxceit)

•9•

Chapter Nine: Plan A Failed, Time For Plan B

No.
No no no.
He wasn't supposed to be here, it wasn't supposed to go like this.
They were supposed to forget about him, so that he could keep them safe and out of harms way.
Dumb, stupid, wonderful light sides. Why did they have to be so damn amazing and kind hearted. Why did they have to come for him after they caused him so much pain and hurt.
Ugh.
His plan obviously hadn't worked, and now Virgil was here.
Dorian paced his room as he tried to think of ways he could save Virgil.
He mildly regretted reconciling with Virgil... This wouldn't have hurt so much, and Virgil wouldn't have had come for him, and he wouldn't be in this predicament.
This was definitely his fault. He couldn't blame Virgil for showing up, he thought he was saving his friend. He didn't have to though...
He didn't need this. He didn't need the stress of Braydan and Clay. He wanted to watch terrible movies with Virgil and fight with Roman and bake cookies with Patton and have a healthy debate with Logan.
He just really, really wanted to go home.
Home to his friends and the one he loved.

Anxiety was his light side form.
His dark side form was much much worse. He wasn't Virgil anymore, he was wild, and feral...
And paranoid.
Paranoia had an idea of the mission at hand. He knew where he was going, what he had to do, who he was looking for.
His best friend was here somewhere, the man he'd loved since a teenager.
But there was also a lot of other things that could hurt him before he got there.
And you could imagine what was taking priority in his mind right now.
Every little noise made him jump, and he could tell for sure none of it was Dorian.
Dorian was quiet, Dorian made sure he wouldn't startle Paranoia in anyway. Dorian was considerate.
He loved Dorian with all of his being.
His eyes darted around the room in an attempt to spot any potential attackers before they got to him. He was prepared to run, as he always did, in another direction, possibly into the path of something else waiting to kill him-
He let out a noise, adjacent to a cat being strangled. Dorian needed him. Dorian needed help. He couldn't help him when he was thinking like this, he wouldn't be able to control himself.
He needed to calm down. What would Dorian say to him if he were here...?
He took a couple deep breaths, rubbing his eyes and smudging his eyeshadow in the process. That was fine. This was all fine.
He was safe, Dorian would be with him the whole time to make sure he was okay.
He paused, took in a couple more deep breaths, and started moving again.

The vibe felt... off.
Dorian knew that Virgil was in here, he could feel it. They all just knew, but he didn't feel like Virgil.
It wasn't Virgil, not at all.
It felt... older. Much more wiry, much more...
Oh no.
He needed to find him, and he needed to find him yesterday. He needed to send him home, he couldn't stay here much longer as he was, or else he'd entirely lose himself to his past and everything he had been. He'd already been here too long, there were cracks in his psyche already.
He needed to find him before Braydan did. Braydan was uncomfy and dangerous, but Virgil knew him. Paranoia knew him. Any amount of comfort would be enough for him, and he knew that.
He could feel the tension spiking in the dark side. The further Paranoia stepped in, the more anxious he got. Dorian needed to find him, and he needed to find him now.
He stood up and left the room, looking around for him.
The closer he got to him, the more nervous he got.
He could also feel Braydan, slinking around, being slimy like he was.
The tension was rising and rising and just getting worse and worse...
Until suddenly it stopped.
And the air was calm.
Which meant someone had gotten to Virgil before him.

Braydan was here.
He knew Braydan, Braydan was a friend. Braydan would look after him.
Paranoia held onto his arm, mostly to ground him. Nothing bad could happen while a friend was here. He could help him find Dorian. He could help him.
Braydan looked up at him. "Are you comfortable now, Paranoia?"
He nodded, gripping onto his sleeve.
"That's wonderful. Did you need anything?"
Paranoia nodded again. "Can you... help me find... Dorian...?"
Braydan's face darken for a moment. Then it was gone.
... It was probably just a shadow. Braydan was his friend. Friends don't hurt their friends.
Or did they?
He felt his stomach turn, gripping onto Braydan's arm tighter.
And he definitely felt that, patting Paranoia's head.
"Of course I can, he's just in his room. We missed you, we've been waiting for you to come home, Dorian especially."
Paranoia lit up at that. Dorian missed him? He's been waiting for him to come home?
But... this wasn't Dorians home... he'd left hadn't he? So did Paranoia... no one called him Paranoia anymore...
Braydan helped him into his room and sat him down. He looked up at him.
"Is Dorian here? Where is he?"
Braydan smiled, and this time he knew he wasn't being paranoid.
It was very sinister. Braydan wanted to hurt him.
Braydan wasn't his friend.
"Oh, he's here. He'll be coming soon. He's been waiting for you."
With that, he slammed the door shut.
Paranoia got up and tried to open it.
Locked.
He was stuck.

When the tension and anxiety spiked up again, Dorian started to panic.
What had he done to Virgil? Was he safe? Was he hurt?
He couldn't find them, they'd somehow managed to avoid him the entire time...
And now Braydan was gonna take away everything Virgil had worked so hard for, his family.
This obviously hadn't worked for him.
"Okay... time for plan B. Illusion?"
She appeared as she usually did, out of nowhere.
"I need help. I need you to take me to Virgil."

The next chapter will be the last one, I'll wrap up the book after that.

Thank y'all for sticking with me, I've been feeling really shitty and honestly I really just want to finish this book lmao.

Thank you for everything, I hope you enjoy the last of this story.

Ily, see you later.

-K