Autophobia (Brusnop)

8: A Reference, A Trick, And A Chick

Danny's POV: 

When I woke up, despite not remembering blacking out in the first place, I was laying on the back seat of a car. This particular car, judging by the fact that there was a price on the dashboard that kept going up, was a taxi. "Where am I going? " I asked. My tongue felt heavy, but I could still speak. 

All that I got in response was silence. Don't tell me that this is another nightmare. I sat up and looked around. The driver looked unfamiliar, but Ben was sitting shotgun. There's only one way to figure out if this is a lucid nightmare or not. I put my hand on his shoulder, and leaned forward to kiss him. 

"What the fuck are you doing?! " Ben shouted, smacking me away. 

"Just......checking something. " 

"Oh, for fuck's sake. You're awake. Now just sit back and relax. " 

I did as he said, but I couldn't relax. I needed to know where he was taking me. I hope he's not planning on putting me in the loony bin. I'm not crazy. I just have nightmares and pretend that I'm crazy through my lyrics. That's it. The taxi stopped in front of a building that I'd never seen before.  Come to think of it, I don't even know what city we're in. Ben paid the fair, and dragged me out of the taxi. 

"Did you drug me? " I asked him. My legs felt like spaghetti. I could barely walk in a straight line. He put my arm over his shoulder to help me walk. 

"You never would have come if you weren't drugged. Just try to look sober for them, okay? " 

"Who's them? " But when we came to the door, I immediately knew. 

Doctor P. Lankton - Psychiatrist 

I pulled away from Ben. "You're coming in here if it kills you, " He told me, grabbing my arm and literally dragging my feet across the cement and through the front door. "You're acting like a child! " He scolded. 

"I'm not going there! I'm not! " I struggled against him as Ben continued to pull me in until we got the the front desk. He held me there with a deathly strong grip while he talked to the woman sitting there. She told us to take a seat. I glared at Ben. 

"Children don't have 'Persian rugs, '" I pointed out. 

"Maybe you have too much, " He agreed. 

"At least I have hair on my chest. Sam thought that you were a woman. " 

Ben stretched out the collar of his shirt looked around to try and argue back. "There's one, " He said. 

"Can't see it. Covered by your tattoo. " 

"At least I can have a tattoo on my chest. " 

"I could if I wanted too! " 

"It's no wonder that the ladies like me better. I've got the better tattoos. What do you have?" He pointed behind my ear. "That weird triangle thing? " 

"It's called the Deathly Hallows. " 

"Well that's why they don't like you! You've got the sign of death on yourself! "

"It doesn't-" I sighed. This isn't worth arguing about. "Never mind. " 

There was a young boy sitting near us, staring. "Hey, kid. Wanna see something cool? " I asked. 

"Is it bad? " He replied.

"Sin is merely a matter of perspective. If you don't try it, how will you know why it's bad? " 

Ben looked at me cautiously. 

I pulled out a lighter from my pocket. "This is a lighter. " 

"For cigarettes? " The kid asked. 

"But watch. " I opened the lighter, revealing the flame. The kid watched it, mesmerized. I put my finger to it for less the a second, pulling away immediately. I did this again and again. And finally I put the lighter away. I showed him my finger. It was completely perfect, like nothing had happened. "We can touch flames. " 

The kid didn't respond, but walked away. 

"How did you do that? " Ben asked. 

"My finger's wet, " I answered simply. 

"What? " 

I handed him the lighter. "Why is that wet?! " He asked. 

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bag of water that the lighter was in. "I keep a lighter in a bag of water. At first, I only kept the water because I got thirsty after throwing up, but now I do this too to impress people. " 

His jaw dropped, but he said nothing in response. 

Once I was back in Patricia Lankin's office, I immediately shut up. She wasn't getting anything out of me, no matter how hard she tried. 

"So, nightmare boy, " She started. Young chick, blonde, flat everywhere, and thin-ish. "What's up? " 

I crossed my arms, keeping my mouth shut. 

"Are they reoccurring, or different? " She asked. 

I held up two fingers, the second option. 

"Great, so that narrows that out of the problems. Any particular person that they're about? " 

I shrugged. 

"Take that as a yes. So these nightmares are about that dude out there? " She pointed to the door, referring to Ben. "You're in love with him. " 

I wanted to correct her, but she was right. 

"He doesn't like you back, so the nightmares are a reflection of your jealousy. The only problem is, you're killing him, right? " 

I glared at her. How is she doing that? 

"A reflection of your innermost thoughts. " 

"Bullshit, " I retorted. 

"So you can speak then. " 

I furrowed my brows. 

"Alright, then, don't speak. I can read you like a book. " 

"Fuck off. I'm fine. " 

"I don't think you're a murderer. I think that you're afraid of him dying, but you're in so much denial that you won't except it. And your mind us trying to convince you. How long has it been since they started? " 

I held up five fingers. 

"Five years? Fascinating. " 

I looked at the clock. 

"You want to leave? Great! Session over then, " She opened the door. 

"What? " 

"Session over. I know everything that I need to for next time. See you in a week. "