Subconscious (Anxceit)

•5•

Chapter Five: Boo

Illusion had fallen asleep in her tank, and Dorian was pacing around the room.
She couldn't see them.
She'd promised to keep scouting, but she'd lost them.
They'd disappeared.
Braydan was a motivator. His pride gave him motivation not to fail, and Clay followed because it was that pride that never let him down.
So that was worrying.
Honestly? That scared him quite a lot.

It was still kind of tense with Virgil, due to their shared history, but Virgil stopped making excuses to leave the room whenever he entered, and would actually initiate conversation.
Next he'd have to work on Roman, who was still suspicious of him, but that wouldn't happen anytime soon.
Logan was pleasant, but Dorian could feel a bit of resistance, but he was getting there.
And Patton loved him the moment they had a real conversation. He'd seen it, seen Patton's opinion change.
He was grateful to Patton for giving him a real chance. And Logan, although he was still suspicious (naturally, but he was trying all he same).
And now Virgil. Virgil had given him another chance, so maybe he wouldn't fuck this one up. Not like last time.
"I'm leaving."
Dorian froze. He didn't know what to say to that, other than, "Okay."
Virgil honestly looked like he was about to cry.
"I-I don't want to leave without you. Maybe you could come?"
That wasn't a lie. Virgil seriously thought Dorian could come with him.
No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn't.
"No. I'll be fine here. It's clear who your real friends are." The lie slipped out before he knew what he was going to say.
Virgils face fell. Whatever little hope he'd had in his eyes had died. Dorians heart beat faster. No. He'd never lied to Virgil... but surely he'd know?
"But... you're my best friend! Please, I can't-"
Dorian had cut him off by slamming his hand down on the table.
"We were never friends." He snarled.
Silence.
He hadn't meant that at all. Virgil had to know that... he'd been with him at his darkest moments...
"I see." The words were heartbreaking. "I guess I'll leave you then."
No. Nonononono. He didn't mean that.
No. He couldn't save this.
Virgil was really leaving.
He knew what happened when he got too distressed. He'd thought Virgil did too. He couldn't control what slipped out of his mouth. It was almost always a lie.
But maybe Virgil hadn't known him as well as he'd thought.
It didn't matter now. Virgil was willing to give him another chance. So he just wouldn't ruin it.
Easy enough...
Maybe.

The atmosphere got a lot better once Virgil and Dorian started getting along again.
It wasn't so tense and dark all the time (no more than you usually would have with two Dark Sides), and at least Dorian was able to stay in a room without being overly uncomfortable.
Of course, there was the Roman issue.
Maybe Dorian would be better at earning his trust if he weren't so fun to rile up.
"Hey, Jekyll and Lied, what spell did you cast to get Virgil to like you again?"
Dorian looked at him coolly. He didn't want to grace that question with an answer, but...
"Moulin Rouge."
Roman narrowed his eyes at him.
"What's that?"
"A movie with Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Came out 2001. It's a musical, you'll love it."
"I know the movie. But surely that can't be it."
Dorian rolled his eyes. "No. You're right. I did not watch a movie with him. I cast some evil black magic on him and he suddenly wanted to be friends again."
For a moment Roman looked astounded, then he took a step forward.
Dorian narrowed his eyes and wiggled his fingers at him sarcastically. "Boo."
Roman jumped back with a loud shriek. Dorian fell to pieces, doubling over and laughing so hard his stomach hurt.
Roman huffed indignantly before turning on his heel and stalking away.
Dorian was still on the floor, laughing.
He heard a snort behind him and sat up, laughter calmed slightly to manic giggles, wiping the tears at his eyes. Virgil stood there, amusement glinting in his eyes, hand on his door.
"That was quite the show, Dee."
Dorian stood and bowed dramatically to him. Virgil giggled and went into his room.
Dorian smiled.
Oh how he loved that sound...

Illusion was still sitting in her tank later that day. Dorian held out him arm, and she sat up, then magically as always slithered up his arm. She lifted her head and looked him in the eye.
'Sanders.'
"Yes, dear?" He tilted his head.
Illusion shook hers, ever so slightly.
'No. Not you. The eldest Sanders. He can help.'
"Eldest Sanders...?"
'Jekyll.'
It took Dorian a moment to realise she was talking about Patton.
Illusion had given each Side a nickname from a character in literature.
Virgil was Raven.
Roman was Hamlet.
Logan was Carter.
And Dorian was Hyde.
Which meant Patton must have been Jekyll.
He hadn't known Illusion to use names from the same texts.
"Why did you choose Jekyll for Patton, Illusion?"
'Did you not pretend to be Jekyll? Hyde was Jekyll's Dark Side.'
"But I'm... not Patton's Dark Side. Clay is."
'But all the same. You are two sides to a coin. Like Jekyll and Hyde.'
Dorian supposed she made sense.
"So you want me to tell Patton about Clay and Braydan?"
'Yes. Tell Jekyll. Todd and Bates are planning.'
"Todd and Bates...?"
'Your brothers, Pride and Cynicism.'
"They are not my brothers." Dorian scowled.
'Just like Raven was not your friend all those years ago?'
Illusion knew just the right nerve to hit. Just because he said it didn't mean it was true, even if he believed it to be.
'They are not simply other Dark Sides, Hyde. You have a deeper connection with these two. You are family. You may not believe so, but families disagree all the time.'
"I don't know, Illusion... they really seem to dislike me."
'As does Hamlet. But he's breaking bit by bit. I do not see why Todd and Bates cannot do the same.'
With that, she disappeared, leaving Dorian to his thoughts.

Before we begin, I thought I'd clear the nicknames.
Raven= The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe (Virgil)
Hamlet= Hamlet by Shakespeare (Roman) 
Jekyll/Hyde= Jekyll and Hyde (Patton and Deceit)
Carter= A Tale Of Two Cities by Charles Dickinson (Logan)
Todd= Sweeney Todd (Pride)
Bates= Psycho (Cynicism)
Each nickname has something to do with each character, even if it's just the theme of the story. Virgil is Raven because of the edginess of the poem. Roman is Hamlet because of his dramatics. Patton and Deceit and Jekyll and Hyde because of the two sides of a coin thing. Pride is Todd because he'll rip you to shreds, and Cynicism is Bates because he's a bit more of a pushover. Logan is Carter because he's kinda salty. The interaction Virgil and Deceit had when Virgil said he was leaving was sort of accidentally loosely based off my friends one shot. If you would like to check it out, her stories the only book in my reading lists. Anyway, this Authors Note is much too long, I'll leave you to it! See you next week!
-K