(TW: Self harm, depression, anorexia, unintentional suicide attempt.)
Patton was sitting on his bathroom floor, disassembled razor in hand. He examined the blade as he thought. He was void of emotions at this point, the opposite of who he was and was expected to be. There was a distinct ringing in his ears that he couldn't get rid of, preventing him from hearing the world around him.
Silent, hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he brought the blade to his pale, skeleton-like arm. He took a deep breath, and he swiped, watching with facination as the crimson painted his skin.
Patton had been in a downward as of late. He didn't know why, he didn't know how. All he knew is that he had to keep them from knowing. But that's been becoming harder, and harder as the days flew by. His mask was cracking, he just prayed that the others wouldn't notice.
Logan, being observant as he is, noticed a small detail over the past few months. Patton had become much more prone to lose focus, and he seemed slower than usual. It took Patton a while, 3 seconds longer, to register that something had happened. Whether it was someone talking to him, or physical things such as someone poking him to get his attention. Logan had decided to take notes from then on.
Next was Virgil, he was always worried, so it was natural for him to pick up on these sorts of things. Having been through these things before, it wasn't to hard to spot. Patton had been isolating himself from everyone and he hadn't been wanting to partake in his favorite activites. Virgil had even heard sobbing from the other side of Patton's door during his nightly snack run. Virgil knew something was up, he just hoped that whatever was going on with Patton, it wasn't what he thought it was.
Roman... He noticed the physical things. First it was the empty cookie jar, and the jar was never empty. Patton only resorted to junk food when he was in a need of a pick-me-up, which was fairly rare, being a ball of sunshine as he is. Next was the eyebags. He took a bit comparing Virgil's makeup to the bags to see if they were real. He explained it to Logan and his worry only grew stronger. It reached it's peak in late December.
Patton was wearing baggy clothes that made it look like he was trying to impersonate Virgil. Upon further examination he couldn't help but correlate how much the father figure resembled a walking skeleton.
Roman had had enough. So while Patton was helping Thomas he decided to gather the others in the common room to discuss his concern. The Sides had all brought up things they noticed and their anguish only grew as they conversated.
The conversation abruptly stopped as Patton entered the common room. They all froze, not knowing what to say.
"Hey kiddos. Did I interrupt something? I-I can leave..." Patton stuttered. Virgil darted up and grabbed Patton's snow white wrist. Virgil paused, meeting Patton's eyes that his smile didn't reach.
"Are you okay Dad?" He spoke softly, as if Patton was so fragile that if he spoke any louder he would shatter.
Patton tensed, his eyes widening as he started to shake slightly. Not enough for the others to see but enough for Virgil to feel. Patton took a shaky breath. "I'm fine." He then gently pried his hand from Virgil's grip and walked to his room as calmly as he could, and snapped.
The Sides looked at eachother, and nodded in silent agreement. As quietly as they could they made their way to the sky blue door. Virgil knocked calmly on the door, hearing no response he twisted the doorknob, only to find it locked.
Roman backed up, prepared to break down the door only for Logan to step in his way. "No." He then held up a bobby pin. He crouched in front of the door and fiddled with the knob, smiling when he heard a satisfying click. He pushed open the door with ease. Virgil thanked him as they stepped inside.
They searched the room frantically, looking under the bed, in his closet, and under his blanket pile. Logan was in the middle of taking notes on Patton's room when he heard Virgil screech. He looked at Virgil then raised a brow as his eyes drifted to the floor only to spot a trail of blood coming from the bathroom door. His eyes widened, digging into his pocket for the bobby pin only for Roman to break down the door.
He emerged from the room, practically sobbing as he held Patton in his arms. The beloved Side's arms were mutilated and bloody, staining Roman's suit, but he didn't care.
⏰💨
Patton awoke the following morning lightheaded and tired. As soon as he opened his eyes he was engulfed in warmth as the Sides were hugging him tightly. As they finally released him Patton was confused, until he saw his bandaged arms. He then quickly pieced it together what had happened the previous night.
He sighed as smiled. "Thank you." He croaked, his throat sore. Logan and Roman then decided to bombard him with questions.
They stopped when Virgil was cuddling up to Patton, clinging to the 'father' like a koala. "You said you were okay. You said you were fine... I believed you for an entire year..." He mumbled in the moral trait's ear, tears streaming down his cheeks and further messing up his make up.
"I lied to you all. I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to worry for me." Patton sighed.
"I don't quite understand why you would hide such pertinant information from us when we could've helped you." Logan inquired.
"If I could slay the beast that is plaguing you I would. But for now, I'm just glad you're alive." Roman added.
Patton smiled. A true, genuine smile.
"Me too."
