When Helping Becomes Painful | A Sanders Sides Story

Chapter 10

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Third Person POV

The sides were all gathered in the dark sides' living room. On the biggest couch were Patton, Roman and Thomas. Logan was sitting on a chair next to them. In front of them were Janus and Virgil in a smaller couch, with Remus standing up behind them. Silence and awkwardness were omnipresent in the room. Virgil was visibly nervous, Janus was trying to comfort him by stroking his back with his hand, Patton was looking at him with a menacing glare, Remus was making funny faces at Roman, who was trying his best not to jump at his throat, and Thomas was just there, sitting, not knowing what to do. Logan was visibly annoyed at this scene. He found their attitudes ridiculous. He was the one to break the silence by clearing his throat, loudly. When all the eyes were on him, he got up from his chair and looked at Virgil.

- Virgil. We came all this way to ask you to come back with us in the Mindscape, and I must inform you that we took the common decision to not exit this house without you.

- No thank you. He doesn't want to.

Janus was the one to answer Logan, with a dry tone. It was almost like he was hissing at the logical trait.

- I'm not talking to you. I want Virgil to answer my question.

The logical trait insisted on the anxious trait's name, making him even more nervous than he was. Virgil did not answer, the sleeves of his hoodie seeming more interesting than ever all of a sudden. Patton was the next to talk, using the sweetest tone he could.

- Kiddo... It's okay if you don't want to come back with us... yet. But I want to hear it from you. Please...

Virgil raised his eyes a little to look at the moral trait, but quickly looked again at the floor.

- ... I'm not against the idea of coming back... but... I'm afraid that... if I do... that nothing will change...

If all of them weren't focused on him, no one them would've heard him. His voice was really low and shaky.

- What do you mean by that, Virgil?

There wasn't an ounce of meanness in Thomas' voice, but it still came intimidating to Virgil. The purple dressed man did not answer the question, scared that he would get mad at him. Again, Janus was the one to speak instead of him.

- Look... Virgil isn't like you three. Doing his job like you all do can only result in suffering for him.

The three light sides looked at the deceitful side with confusion in their eyes. It was Remus who continued the explanation.

- You guys never wondered why Virgil used to ''torture'', like you say, Thomas with anxious thoughts? Basically, it was for his own well-being.

Because it was his brother, Roman couldn't listen to him without contradicting him. They were in constant confrontation, so he reacted accordingly.

- This is stupid. How could hurting someone else be any good?

Janus could feel Virgil next to him getting more tense as the conversation progressed. He knew that he and Remus were making him uncomfortable, but they needed to know. Otherwise, they would just keep hurting him without understanding.

- You taught him to always put Thomas in front of him and that if he didn't, he was a dark side, a bad guy. To conform to your moral standards and to be a part of your group of ''good guys'', he chose to take all of Thomas' anxiety.

Janus took a moment, then continued his explanation.

- An anxious thought is nothing, but a cluster of them results in a panic attack... And that can break anyone, even the strongest of us.