"Take that!", exclaimed 5-year old Thomas. Roman and him were battling enemies to save the princess. "One swish of my sword and you shall be defeated!". Thomas swung his "sword"-a bunch of markers stacked onto eachother- and the last bad guy fell. "Hah, defeat!" The young boy looked around and tried to think of another challenge.
This was Romans favorite game. Being the one who gave Thomas his creativity, it was up to him to imagine the next obstacle. He looked over at Logan, who was reading a book about dragons, and to Patton, who was watching Hocus Pocus.
"Dragon Witch!" As soon as the thought entered his brain, a dragon in witches clothes popped into the room. A puff of fire from its mouth had Thomas jump over the couch, aka, the castle wall. "How are we gonna beat the Dragon, Roman?'', asked Thomas. "We can't get past the fire." Suddenly, Thomas' sword transformed into a water gun. "Of course!" He looked to his companion.
"Water beats fire." Roman smirked back. "Right, Logan?"
"Yes, but sometimes it can make fire worse-"
"See, Logan says so!" Conjuring himself a water pistol, the imaginative side turned to Thomas. "I've got your back. Go get it!"
Thomas leaped over the couch with gusto. When the Dragon Witch opened its mouth, he extinguished the flame as soon as it came. The Dragon tried again and was at once put out. This exchange went on until there was no more water. "In coming!" With a yell and a jump, Roman was squirting water everywhere. "We're out!", Thomas yelped when the stream stopped coming from Romans gun.
"Whattaya gonna do now?"
All sides and Thomas stopped. Rotating from their respective positions to face the sudden voice, they noticed a Thomas dressed darkly. "The water's all gone."
"We can imagine more.", replied Roman quizzically.
"You're just gonna run out again", refuted the new side. Roman stayed quiet for a moment, unable to think of a response. "Who are you?" was all he could manage.
"I'm Virgil." he replied, tugging on his hoodie sleeves.
"What do you do? Logan?'' Roman directed this question to the logical one.
"Well, uh, judging by the black clothes and having a bad outcome ready for all situations, um, I'd assume you are Anxiety?", fidgeted Logan.
"I am.", said Virgil quietly, almost like he was embarrassed.
"A new friend!", squealed Patton, who ran over a pulled Anxiety into a bear hug.
Clearly frightened, Virgil didn't reciprocate.
"Patton, excited as you are, maybe you should give Virgil some space." quipped Logic, noticing Virgil retreating into his hoodie.
Patton let go. "Right, sorry.", he sheepishly smiled and held out a hand. "I'm Patton."
"He's Morality, the heart. I'm Logan, Logic and Reasoning is my thing. I'm the brain. And Roman-"
"I'm a prince.", Roman said bowing.
"Roman is dramatic.", said Patton innocently.
"Roman is Thomas's imagination. He's the creative one.", explained Logan.
" That makes sense.", Virgil said a little too snarky for Romans taste.
"What's anxiety?'', asked Thomas, watching the exchange.
" I make you worry.", replied Virgil who had pulled his hoodie over his head.
"Why would you do that to Thomas?" Roman gave Virgil a lookover. He didn't like what he saw. Virgil didn't respond, but an almost invisible blush spread across his face.
"Anxiety is needed, Roman, Without it, Thomas wouldn't have anything to fear, which would get him into a lot of trouble." Logan informed the other sides. He wasn't very good with social cues, though, so he didn't notice Virgil seeming to shrink away.
"Hmph." Roman huffed away. Him and Thomas had long forgotten about saving princesses until they heard a huff from the Dragon Witch. "What do you think we should do about the Dragon, Virgil?", Thomas asked.
"Well..you could distract it while one of you saves the princess."
"But-", Roman started.
"Good idea! C'mon Roman!", interjected Thomas. They carried out Virgil's plan and soon enough, the Dragon Witch was slayed and the princess was saved.
"Who do I owe the thanks for rescuing me?", fawned the princess.
"You can thank Virgil, he came up with the idea!", said Thomas. The princess gushed over Virgil and even kissed his cheek, much to Romans dismay. HE was the prince. HE should be getting thanked.
"I-um, you're welcome?", stammered Virgil. He noticed Roman glaring at him and started to pull on his sleeves again. Thomas' mom then called it was dinner time, so the sides and imagined things disappeared.
In the mindscape, Virgil went straight to his room. That was a lot of social interaction, and it took a lot out of him. In the room, he could hear Roman huff.
"Who does he think he is, anyway? He's new. He's not the hero!", pouted Roman as he sauntered into the living room with the rest of the sides.
"Don't be so jealous, Roman. You're not the only one who can have good ideas.", retorted Logan.
"I already have to put up with you for that! Besides, he dresses all dark! And he wears eyeshadow! It's not even on his eyes, Logan!", he scowled. "He's practically a villain." That was the last Virgil heard before he threw his pillows over his head. He wasn't wanted. He was practically a villian. Virgil fell asleep with a few tear streaks on the pillows.
Hours later, Thomas had suddenly woken up. Shifting in his bed, he noticed his closet door was cracked.
"It's a monster.", whispered Virgil, balled up next to Thomas.
"Monsters don't exist.", Logan whispered back, appearing.
" Says who?", questioned Roman as he and Patton showed up.
"Maybe it's a nice monster. Like from Monsters Inc.!", Patton suggested.
"Monsters do not exist.", repeated Logan.
"Why don't you go check it out if you're so sure?", taunted Roman.
"You're the prince.", Virgil said jadedly.
"Excuse me?"
"You're the prince, aren't you? Why don't you go check?", he replied through gritted teeth.
"You're the one who's been playing hero. You do it, Not Topic."
"Here's a thought: you both can go check.", Thomas said, stepping in from their bickering.
"Fine." Roman grabbed Virgil's hand and pulled him towards the closet. " I bet its a Dragon Witch."
"Those aren't actually real, Princey. It's probably a real threat, like a giant spider."
"SPIDER?", whimpered Patton as he dove under the covers.
"Can we refrain from mentioning arachnids around Patton, please?", asked Logan as he comforted Morality, who was still under the sheets.
"Sorry, Patt.", said Virgil as he crept closer to the door, heart beating in his chest. Roman put his hand on the knob and turned it slowly.
"AH!" they all screamed when the door banged itself open. Thomas,Patton, and Logan hid under the blankets while Roman and Virgil held onto each other for dear life.
"Are you guys dead?" Thomas' voice was muffled from the covers.
"I don't think so." Roman peeked one eye opened and saw the ball that had fallen on the floor after knocking open the closet. "It's okay guys, it was just a toy."
Virgil was still holding onto Roman. He really didn't like loud noises. With his eyes shut right, he breathed heavily. "Are you sure?"
Roman saw how scared the anxious boy still was. He put his arms back around him and whispered so the others didn't hear. "It's fine. I promise. If something comes out, I'll protect you."
Virgil opened his eyes. "You said I was the bad guy."
Roman was taken aback for a moment but regained his regal posture. "I'm sorry, Virg. I was scared that Thomas liked you more than me. You're not the bad guy. You were a hero tonight."
"So were you." And with those words,the two walked back to the bed.
"Maybe you guys should sleep here tonight.", said Thomas hopefully.
"Sleepover!", Patton said excitedly. The rest quickly agreed, and fell asleep soon. Roman stayed up for a minute, looking over a sleeping Virgil. Maybe he wasn't too bad.