The Dark Sides

Chapter 13: I Am The Bad Guy

Virgil knocked on the door to Deceit's room, waited a moment, then, after not getting a response, let himself in.

For a moment, Virgil thought he was in the wrong room. All of the ornate decor had vanished. It looked just like everyone else's room; essentially a copy of Thomas' living room. But the longer Virgil looked, the more he noticed how much of a facade Deceit's room really was. Without the glitz and glamour, he could see that the furniture wasn't in the greatest shape, the paint on the walls was chipped in several places, and the carpet was faded and stained. It shocked Virgil how empty the room seemed; there wasn't even any pictures on the walls or knickknacks on the shelf. Seeing this bare room just felt...sad.

Looking around, Virgil found Deceit sitting on the couch. Deceit looked like he wanted to cover up his room's true form and show that he was still in control, but he didn't have the energy. When Virgil sat next to him he made room on the couch, but didn't do much else.

Virgil took a deep breath. "Hey."

Deceit didn't respond.

"So, you ducked out, huh? I did that once. Everyone tried to come to my room and bring me back. Honestly, I'm glad they did."

"No thanks. Leave."

Virgil stood up. Surprisingly, he felt disappointed. Like it or not, Thomas needed Deceit, for better or worse. Deceit just needed to learn when it was his time to shine.

"What are you doing?" Deceit asked.

"You told me to leave."

"No, I...I didn't mean it sarcastically."

"Wait." Virgil tried to process what Deceit meant, instead of what he was saying. "Are you trying to be honest with me?"

"No." Deceit said, shaking his head yes.

Virgil had never thought about that before; how hard it is for Deceit to only speak in lies and barely have any control over it. True, anxiety was no walk in the park, but at least Virgil had his friends. If everything you said was a lie, how could you get your friends to trust you? How could you even have friends?

That must be pretty lonely, thought Virgil.

"Ok," he said slowly. "I think I understand. Deceit, I can't believe I'm saying this, but we need you back. Thomas needs you to function. He can't be himself without you, even if he won't admit it."

"He needs me," Deceit scoffed. "I'm not the 'bad guy'. Everyone loves me. I bring so much to the table."

"Actually, you do. It took a while for me to realize this myself, but we contribute more than we might at first glance. Yes, I make Thomas anxious, but I also run his natural 'fight or flight' response system.

"Without you, Thomas is honest with everyone. He's embarrassing himself in public, he's not keeping any secrets or surprises. Not to mention that he's having all of us on the clock 24/7. It's nearly impossible for anyone to get rest anymore."

Deceit snorted, taking pleasure in everyone's discomfort. Then his smile faded.

"I treated everyone so well when they were around me. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to see me back."

"But we can work on that. Yes, you were terrible in the past, but you can be better. Stop cheating on game night. Don't be a control freak. Try and make the others happy."

"You make it sound soooo easy."

"All right, Sarcasm Central. At least try and start small. Can you do that?"

Deceit shrugged, which was probably the closest Virgil would get to a yes.

"Thank you." Virgil sighed. "See? You can be a good guy."

Deceit sighed, then gave a small smile. For the first time, Virgil could say that it was genuine.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Absolutely not."