My Mind is a Safe

Call me Mr. Benzedrine

"I'm sure you've got a lot of questions." Benzedrine states. Pete and Joe sat on the couch opposite the man while Andy grabbed something cold for Pete's bruised neck.
"That's a damn understatement!" Joe exclaimed looking angrily at the man sitting across from him. Moments later Andy joined his bandmates on the couch, throwing Pete a bag of frozen peas.
"Now that you're all here I mad as well properly introduce myself. Hello, my name is Benzedrine and it really is nice to finally properly meet you." He said with a slight smile on his face. The bandmates stared in shock.
"You just choked out our friend and now you're saying it is nice to meet us!?" Joe yelled standing from his spot on the couch.
"That's where you're wrong Joseph. Do not confuse me with Vaughn, he is the one that wants to harm you all." He explained seemingly expecting the question.
"Who is Vaughn?" Pete croaked out holding the peas to his throat. "I am so lost."
Benzedrine lets out a long sigh before responding "When Patrick was young he was a very small, vulnerable kid. He was bullied at school and didn't know how to take care of himself. As a result Patrick's brain came up with Vaughn, an alternate personality." He explained.
"And what about you?" Andy asks having not spoken a word till now. "Because to me you look like Patrick. That other man also looked like Patrick, is this some kind of sick joke?!" He asks getting frustrated. Pete and Joe looked at their friend in shock while Benzedrine sat still not reacting to this sudden outburst.
"Take a good look Andy." He did, the man before him sat straight and proud much unlike his friend who usually sat slumped. His voice was different as well, calmer yet dramatic holding a slight hint of flamboyance in his words.
"How is it possible?" Andy asked slightly bothered now.
"Patrick has what doctors would call a multiple personality disorder." He cringed at the label. "I would just say friends personally." He explained now smiling.
"Why wouldn't he tell us something like that?" Andy asked. Benzedrine's entire demeanour changed, he slumped slightly and his face grew fearful.
"Because I thought you would be scared of me." Patrick said wiping a tear that sprung from his eye. "Of us." Patrick corrected.
"Ok wait, are you Patrick?" Joe asked confused, he nodded.
"I'm not afraid of you 'Trick." Pete said, his voice still rough making Patrick look down knowing that those bruised would match his hands perfectly. "I'm pissed but not afraid" Pete added, the other guys nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry, I know it's kind of a big deal and I tried telling you b-before..." He trailed off not wanting to recall what happened. Pete stood from the couch and walked over to his friend wrapping him in a much needed embrace. He flinched away at first, terrified of hurting him again, but eventually melted into it. Pete released him and took a seat next to him.
"So Benzedrine said how Vaughn came about kind of but not specifically. How did this all begin? When?" Pete asked, one hand on Patrick's shoulder and the other on his neck.
"When I was nine I was severely bullied at school, when I told my parents they said it would pass and that every school had kids like that." He paused for a moment. "Eventually it turned physical but I didn't have the courage to tell me parents. That's when Vaughn came into existence, he started to talk to me, comfort me, he was my best friend. At school the bullying got worse as years passed and eventually I began to have black outs. I would see my bullied and wake up with no wounds. When I asked Vaughn he said he took care of it, I later came to find he beat one of them into a coma when police showed up at my door." Patrick stopped taking a deep breath.
"So he's taken control and hurt someone before?" Joe asks concerned.
"Yes, but it was always to protect me. When I found out I got angry and scared. He used me to hurt someone." Tears fell again and Patrick gripped his hands together tightly, lowering his head. "That's how my friends found out about Vaughn and the physical bullying. W-when I was fifteen Benzedrine came into existence and he helped me keep Vaughn from hurting anyone else." He said shakily.
"You could have told us. We would never be afraid of you." Andy said reassuringly.
"I thought I could keep him out of the spot light, I have 'episodes' sometimes but he's never actually tried anything. He went from doing what ever was necessary to protect me to doing whatever he could to hurt me even at the cost of himself." He explained.
"Has he tried to hurt you before?" Joe asked, Patrick nodded lifting his shirt to reveal a long scar down his side.
"He cut me when I was 13." Patrick explained sadly.
"I'm sorry 'Trick. I've just got one more question." Patrick nodded promoting Pete to continue. "Yo- his eyes were yellow, just like in YBC how is that possible?" Patrick's head shot up his eyes filled with fear.
"W-what? N-no that's can't b-be possible." Patrick lifted his legs to his chest gripping his knees tightly.
"Patrick what is it?" Joe asked.
"My doctor had mentioned before that the stronger personalities can take on their own physical attributes whether is be strength, or being able to see etc. In my nightmare his eyes were yellow, but I figured it was just a dream." He explained.
"Wait so he is stronger now?" Patrick nodded sadly, his eyes filled with fear.
"That's how he h-hurt P-Pete." He explains shaking.
"We're here!" Their driver yelled interrupting their conversation.
"Thank you!" Joe shouted back. They hadn't even realized it had been four hours since the incident. Pete glanced at Patrick looking for his approval to continue the show.
"We aren't cancelling it." Patrick said immediately.
"Alright, looks like I will be spending a lot of time in makeup and possibly a high necked jacket!" Pete announced laughing as he stood. This broke the tension slightly and Patrick moved to stand.
"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Andy asked placing his hand on Patrick's shoulder. He nodded in response and all four bandmates stepped off the bus into the cool Toronto air. It was mid November and the breeze caused Patrick's limbs to go numb as the cold bit at his extremities. Patrick pulled his jacket tighter around himself and stuck his hands in his pockets as a result.
       "Sound check is in a half hour." Joe said looking down at the watch on his wrist. Pete had grabbed a scarf on the way off the bus to cover his bruised neck and was now wearing a jean jacket over his dark grey shirt. The group began to walk to the venue entrance, they were planning on playing the Air Canada Centre to follow up their previous Grand Rapids show.
      "Tonight's going to be Awesome!" Pete exclaimed as they walked into the hockey rink style arena. Patrick nodded with a smile and the four went to their dressing rooms.
       They spent a few hours making sure everything was prepared for the night to come and eventually they were standing backstage. Pete's bass was strapped around his shoulder hanging on his back, Patrick and Joe  held their guitars in the same position and Andy was practicing with his drumsticks on an imaginary set of drums. The sound of someone speaking over the speakers rang out and Patrick played the first note in the song Pheonix before the group ran into stage, continuing the song as they went.
     They extended the intro in order to welcome the crowd whom had filled the arena. "How you doing Toronto!" Pete yelled the crowd screaming in response. Pete explained the song and Patrick started to sing.
     Everything was going amazingly they had gotten through four songs and it had made them all forget about the events of earlier. Pete pulled off his spin with his guitar without hitting anyone in the face and they were all coated in sweat from jumping up and down and running around stage.
      It was during the fifth song that things went downhill, Patrick's singing would faze from loud and energetic to low and mumbling. He eventually started forgetting words and skipping verses. The guys just played along putting it down to exhaustion. It was when he completely stopped singing and playing that they realized something was wrong. Patrick stood in the middle of the stage his arms falling to his side, he stared blankly at the back of the stadium. Pete caught on quickly and ran up to Patrick.
    "'Trick? Come on buddy stay with me here. Are you ok?" When he received no response he began to pull him off stage, Patrick followed with no trouble at first. They could hear people in the audience shouting and asking if he needed an ambulance. They were about the step off stage when suddenly Patrick turned to Pete.
    "Let me go!" He shouted and pushed Pete back, he landed with a thud on the stage. He stared up at the yellow eyes of Vaughn with an expression of shock and anger.
    "What are you doing?" Pete asked gritting his teeth.
    "Ah well I figured now that we got you guys knowing out of the way due to Patty Boy's interference why not tell the world." He gestured to the crowd enthusiatically. Pete moved to get up.
     "You move and I throw Patrick off the rafters. It's a simple enough climb." He said gesturing towards the large equipment holding the lights. Pete stayed on the ground not wanting to risk it.
     The crowd just sat in awed silence clearly confused as to what is going on up on the stage. Many people had their phones out, probably thinking this is some kind of skit for the Young Blood Chronicles. Vaughn began to cross the stage towards the microphone but seemed to change his mind half way and turned to face Joe.
   "Ah, Trohman. That would be perfect." He said with a sneer. He looked out at the crowd and stepped to the mic for a moment. "You guys ready for a show?" He asked in a cold voice, the big screens captured his yellow eyes perfectly.
     Without as much as a warning Vaughn grabbed one of the amp wires ripping it free from the amp and lunged himself at Joe throwing them both to the ground. Pete jumped off the ground and Andy leaped over his drum kit. Vaughn was attempting to wrap the cord around Joe's neck in an attempt to recreate his YBC death.
   Pete wasn't sure what to do so as a last ditch effort he lifted his bass and closed his eyes before he brought it down on Patrick's head. He tried to hit only hard enough to knock him out without causing serious damage but of course they will have to get him checked out. Vaughn landed with a thud next to Joe who quickly unwrapped the cord from his neck and got to his feet. Pete walked over to the mic.
     "I'm sorry, but this show is cancelled please speak to the venue about refunds." He then pulled out his phone and dialled 911 for an ambulance.

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Sorry about the longer wait for this one I got super busy really fast because school started and I have work and everything so yeah. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please know the cover contest is still very much open please submit yours to with my Instagram @quiet_kid or dm me on here! I'm apologizing in advance as I already know Im not going to be very nice to Patrick. Sorry.

Please comment and questions or concerns, dont forget to vote! And have a nice day!