Broken (Prinxiety)

4

      TW: Implied self-harm

      Both Patton and Roman had tried to visit him, had tried to get him out of his room. At one point, even Logan had knocked on his door to make sure that he was okay. Virgil was sure that Patton had set him up to it, though. He had Logan wrapped around his finger.

      Depression visited him as well. He would show up at random times, reminding Virgil of how the others didn't actually care about him, and they consider him the bad guy. At one point, he had even shown him what the light sides would be like if Virgil wasn't around.

      As much as he wanted to pretend that it didn't matter, it hurt him to see just how little he mattered. Not that he was surprised, though.

      After a few days, Patton and Roman's visits became more frequent. Virgil had ended up taking his headphones and blasting music whenever they came by so that he could block them out. It became harder and harder to ignore them, though. 

      It was horrible to be left alone with his own thoughts. His insecurities and self-hatred only grew. 

      He now had to keep his hoodie on due to the results of eing left alone with his thoughts. Not that it would make a difference, because he always has it on anyways. He wasn't going to let his arms show, though. Not that it mattered, because the others weren't around. 

      Virgil was resting on his dark colored bed, his eyes closed as he listened to music, drowning out his thoughts. He had it up so loud that he didn't notice that someone had managed to pick the lock and sneak in until it was too late.

      He yelped and his eyes flew open as his headphones were removed, half expecting Depression to be standing there. What he saw instead was Roman standing at the side of his bed, the pair of headphones in his hands. Behind him was Patton and Logan. 

      Virgil narrowed his eyes and reached out for his headphones, trying to hide the fact that Roman had scared him. "Give those back, Prince Not-So-Charming." He cursed as Roman moved it out of his reach, earning a gasp from Patton, as well as a "Language!"

      "I won't give these back until you agree to get out of bed and hang out with us." Virgil let out a frustrated groan. 

      "No! Why does it even matter? I know you don't want me around." 

      "That's not true," Patton protested. "I want you around, kiddo!"

      "No you don't!" Virgil's voice rose a little, and he took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down. "None of you want me around. I don't blame you, either. I wouldn't want me around, either."

      Patton visibly flinched, as if he had been slapped. It was at this moment that Virgil knew he messed up. Logan stepped forward, resting a comforting hand on Patton's shoulder.

      "Virgil, there is no need to yell." Logan kept his voice calm and controlled, though Virgil didn't miss the small edge to it, as if he was upset at Virgil for making Patton react that way. "The others are right. It's not healthy for you to be locked in here all the time."

      Virgil shook his head, letting out an empty laugh. "Why do you even care? I've been locked away in my room for a lot longer than this. None of you cared. I can understand Patton checking on me, but not Roman, and definitely not you. I bet you're only pretending to care because Patton told you to."

      He then turned his attention to Roman. "And you're probably only doing this because you see me as a damsel in distress, as just another person to rescue. Well guess what? I don't need you or anybody to rescue me!" 

      Roman began to speak, but Virgil cut him off with a hiss. The anxious trait turned away from them, crossing his arms over his chest.    

      He waited for them to just give up and leave like he thought they would. A minute passed, then two. The room was silent. They were still standing there, and it unnerved him. 

      Virgil tensed as a pair of arms wrapped around him, then another. And then finally, a moment later another pair of arms pulled him into a hug. Virgil twisted slightly, seeing the light sides hugging him. He didn't know how to react to this form of affection. 

      Finally, the others moved away from him, and he relaxed. 

      "Kiddo, we really do care about you," Patton told him gently. "I'm sorry if we made it seem like we didn't."

      "It's okay, dad," Virgil mumbled, looking away. "Besides, it's not you that's the problem. It's the other two. They've made it perfectly clear that they hate me, that they think that I'm just a bad guy." He knew he was a bad guy.

      "I don't hate you," Roman protested with a dramatic gasp. "I just--get annoyed by you sometimes. You just make Thomas worry, and you're constantly creating problems that really aren't a big deal!"

      Virgil lifted his gaze to Roman, raising an eyebrow. "Well, what do you expect me to do? It's not like I can control it. It's literally my job to see problems and warn Thomas about them. I'm just trying to protect him." It wasn't always like that.

      Logan decided to respond before Roman could say anything. He adjusted his glasses and stated, "Roman, sometimes it's a good thing that Virgil is like that. You saw how Thomas behaved when he was absent. He is vital to keeping Thomas safe."

      He then looked towards Virgil and said, "But, you can also be a little too worrisome. You easily jump to conclusions; that's what led to this situation. You assumed that we hated you, and decided to distance yourself from us as a result."

      Roman gave a small sigh. "I guess you're right, Logan. He has gotten us out of a few situations by being so anxious..." 

      He looked towards Virgil, and gently took his hand. Vigil tensed at this, his eyes widening a bit. "Virgil, I am sorry for the things I've said about you. You're an important part of Thomas, and I should treat you as such. So, would you like to come have a movie marathon with us later?"

      Virgil was silent for a moment. All he could focus on was Roman holding his hand. It took a minute for him to actually process what he had said. Finally, he nodded. 

      "Yeah, I guess."