*Discontinued* Masquerade~Haitus (Needs Rewritting)

15. Logan

Walking into the party room, I couldn't help but tense up. I was surprised to not to see Roman whining about the music or anything else, to be honest. The creative side has given no input to the weekly parties as he normally took control over it. What surprised me the most however was Deceit finding a replacement for the music. Neither I nor Patton knew a thing about music. Our preferences where not what the others would want to listen to. Roman usually had pop or party mixes playing. The occasional Disney remix thrown into the bunch... However, this Kai person seemed to be playing rock and alternative. Something I couldn't help but imagine Anxiety enjoying.

"Hey, Silverfish." I tensed up hearing his dark lulled voice behind me. He just laughed as I turned to look at him.  He was wearing his usual black vest suit with a yellow dress shirt. He stuffed his gloveless hands into his pants pockets as he moved to stand beside me with a smile. "This is a party, you know? You should be enjoying yourself."

"Greetings, Cassidy." It was all I said but he smiled brightly as if just simply acknowledging him was the best thing I could have done. "You seem to be in high spirits... All is well?"

"Yep." He popped the 'p' with dramatic effect as he glanced over to the stage. He smiled softly seeing the redhead smiling away as he played DJ. I must admit. The young dark side seemed particularly at piece up there at the music stand. "Bro's got an admirer. It was actually really funny seeing the way he was flirting. Reminded me a bit of..." He froze up with a frown before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Shit... How the fuck didn't I see that?"

"Cassidy?" He glanced over with a soft smile before shaking his head. 

"It's fine. I just... I'm going to have to talk to him..." His eyes went dark as he grinned deviously, showing a predatorial glint in his eyes as his fangs peeked through a bit. "Let him know what's waiting for him if he hurts my brother." 

"ANXIETY!" We both tensed up seeing Patton running over to pull an anxious man into a hug. I looked over to see Cassidy eyeballing the man beside them and I frowned. Wait... Was that Roman? I narrowed my eyes in confusion as the three had a conversation too far away for me to actually hear. Roman was just standing there beside them. I never thought Roman would ever wear something darker than white, but there he was in black. He had worn a plain black suit with a white dress shirt and a deep crimson tie. His new mask covered his face just enough that with the change in his usual attire you would not have recognized him. Why was he with Anxiety? How were they actually hanging out with each other and not fighting? I am a little more than a perturbed?

"That asshole better back the fuck up or else he'll finally find out how 'venomous' I really am." Cassidy's voice was deep, wispy, and guttural as if it was having a hard time decided if it wanted to be a hiss or a growl. "I swear if he..."

"Cassidy..." The younger man tensed up and glanced over at with these soft eyes as I smiled over at him. "If you are that concerned maybe it would be best to address the issue with the related party?"

"If I did that bro would straight up murder me." I watched with muted worry as Anx and Roman ran off leaving Patton there to fill his time with idle chatter with other sides and characters. Cassidy was still tense even after all that. I'm not good with emotions. I do not know how to regulate, manage, or console. However, seeing the worry in my comrade's eyes made a pit form in my stomach that I did not enjoy in the slightest.

"Would you..." The song changed and I could see the instant response Cassidy had. He jumped slightly grabbing my arm tightly with a bright smile on his face, cutting me off from my previous question. 

"I can't believe that asshole." He called out with a slight laugh earning a confused glare from me. His grip released only for his hand to move closer to his body. Not quite to his side as he positioned it in the air in a peculiar way. His fingers moved slightly as his other hand seemed to 'strum' the air... Oh, I see. 'Air Guitar'... "If I knew he was going to play this song I would have grabbed my guitar!"

He smiled even brighter as his fingers moved about the imagined frets matching the chords played out in the song as if Cassidy was the instrumentalist himself. He mouthed the lyrics out with such glee it was hard to anything for fear of breaking it. He looked so happy there playing his air guitar lost in the music. 

"So why are you running away..." I smiled a bit as his voice reached my ears. Cassidy didn't sing often but I did enjoy the rare moments he did. "Why are you running away?" His eyes closed as his body swayed to the tempo. "Is it me? Is it you? Nothing that I can do to make you change your mind." I could help but chuckle a little as the younger side beamed brightly. "Is it me? Is it you? Nothing that I can do... Is it a waste of time?" He let out a soft laugh and I found myself lost in his expressions. I barely heard the music as I was entirely entranced by his voice alone. "Is it me? Is it you? Nothing that I can do to make you change your mind." He was really into it. To be honest I had never seen anyone other than Roman sing and 'perform'. "So why are you running away? Why are you running away?" It was a welcomed change. He seemed so happy just being in the music. One of these days I am going to have to have him actually play me something. "So why are you running away? Why are you running away?" I think I would very much enjoy that. The song ended and Cassidy laughed letting his hands drop. He looked up at me with an awkward smile and I laughed.

"You have a nice voice." He just laughed again but he couldn't hide the subtle blush of his cheek as he smiled.

"Your damn right I do." He shot me this grin as he sighed peacefully. "But... I still say Virgil's is WAY better." I narrowed my eyes in confusion as he glanced around the room. Virgil? He had never mentioned the name before. "Vee's voice could even rival the Prince's... if he ever actually sang in public. The only time I ever heard him was when we had that ba..." He stopped short in such a sudden way I could feel my nerves start to get to me. He looked scared. I followed his gaze until I found the two from before... Roman and Anxiety. They looked like they were fighting. Correction. Roman looked like he was yelling at Anxiety. Shit... "That fucking..."

"Don't." I grabbed Cassidy's hand causing him to freeze up as I saw Anx lead Roman to the back wall. As much as I hate seeing Cassidy angry or worried... as much as I hate Roman losing his temper and hurting Anx, they HAVE to work this out themselves. We can't coddle either of them. They won't grow otherwise.

"Logan, please. He'll have a..." I shook my head still watching the two as they spoke. Roman looked like he... no. Roman WAS crying. The creative side had never been so open about his feeling before. What change? "Logan?"

"It's ok, Cassidy." I whispered as I finally let Cassidy. Roman got up and left not 2 seconds later leaving a very confused and worried Anxiety behind him. It wasn't long before Cassidy was making his way over with me close behind.

"Anxiety?!" Cassidy pulled the scared man into a hug before he could refuse. Not that it appears he would. Anx was just starting off after Roman with tears in his eyes. "Anx... Bro are you..."

"He just left." Cassidy slowly let his brother go with this look of broken confusion. Anx just narrowed his eyes and frowned, pointing lazily towards the door. "I, uh... I'm gonna go... if that's ok?" He glanced over at me questioningly and I nodded with a smile. "Thanks... I'll be seeing you both." We watched the anxious side slip out the door with a frown before I turned to the overly worried side beside me. 

"Come on, Caz. It's a party. You should be enjoying yourself."