Phoenix couldn't ignore Apollo's unhappy expressions. He grew more worried every minute. Not wanting Apollo to cry again, he wanted to put off talking about it for a while, but he knew he that wouldn't help at all. They had to talk about it if they were to overcome the problem. If Apollo did cry again, then he'd just have to comfort him.
Phoenix approached Apollo who was currently curled up in a ball, lying on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around him. Apollo's grip on the blanket was so tight; he seemed to be holding onto it as if his life depended on it. Taking grasp of the blanket, Phoenix gave it a great pull and Apollo's grip on the blanket was lost.
"Hey! What was that for?" Apollo was annoyed, he felt cold without the blanket around him.
"You can't lie here moping around all day or you'll never feel better," Phoenix was clearly worried about Apollo.
"Well it's not like I can go outside, the police might notice me, not that I care if they find me or not, but you seem to want me to stay," Apollo sat up and glared at Phoenix who was still holding the blanket.
Phoenix chuckled, "They wouldn't know what you look like without those spikes of yours anyway, they wouldn't recognise you if you were right in-front of them," he was used to seeing Apollo's hair not covered in gel now; he really would be unrecognisable to someone who didn't know him well though.
"Well maybe I'd be able to gel it if you actually had any hair gel," Apollo sounded really annoyed.
"Sorry, but my hair spikes are natural, I have no need for hair gel," Phoenix smirked. "Now get up, there's somewhere I want to take you."
"Where?" Apollo was really curious as to where Phoenix could possibly want to take him.
Phoenix didn't want to say. "You'll, um, find out when we get there."
"I'm not a child, just tell me!" Apollo demanded.
Phoenix gave in; he wasn't going to argue with Apollo over something so silly. "I want to take you to see a doctor," Phoenix stated bluntly.
"What? No way! I'm not seeing a doctor! You think I'm insane, don't you?" Apollo shot Phoenix what appeared to be the angriest and saddest look both at once.
"Not at all!" Phoenix insisted. "I'm just worried about you because you seem really unhappy all of the time, and I don't know how to help you."
Phoenix hated seeing Apollo looking so glum and really did just want what he thought would be best, and he had a feeling he knew what was wrong with Apollo, he just needed a doctor to diagnose it so they could do something about it.
"Well I don't want to be on whatever crazy pills some doctor prescribes," Apollo crossed his arms acting stubborn like a child refusing to eat his greens.
"Damn it, Apollo, I'm only looking out for you! You said I don't care enough about you, but when I do try to help, you just push me away!" Phoenix was losing his patience with Apollo. He felt bad for sounding like he was placing blame on Apollo, but he knew that if Apollo felt bad about refusing to go, then he would eventually agree to go.
Apollo curled back into a ball on the sofa. He wasn't saying anything again, so Phoenix threw the blanket back on to Apollo and then went to make some coffee. When Phoenix returned to the sofa with coffee for him and Apollo, the younger man apologised for refusing to go to the doctors. He said that he was offended because it's clear there's something wrong with him, but he keeps trying to deny it. Despite this, he still refused to go.
Phoenix allowed Apollo to waste the rest of the day lying on the sofa. Without telling Apollo, he had called the doctor and asked for him to come over. Over the phone, Phoenix explained what he believed was wrong with Apollo.
The next day, Apollo was doing exactly what he was doing the previous day; nothing. Phoenix approached a sleeping Apollo lying on the sofa, and rather than pulling his blanket off, this time he couched beside him.
"Apollo, wake up," Phoenix nudged the sleepy attorney. "It's morning, Apollo, almost the afternoon actually, so get up."
Apollo woke up with a big yawn. He opened his eyes and took a look at Phoenix then rolled over to face the other way.
"Don't be so moody," Phoenix complained.
"But I don't feel like getting up today," Apollo moaned as he pulled the blanket over his head.
"You spent the whole of yesterday lying here, I'm not letting you do nothing all day," Phoenix pulled the blanket off Apollo.
"Stop doing that! If we're just repeating yesterday, then the answer is no if you're planning on inviting me to the doctors again," Apollo sat up and pulled his knees to his chest.
"I'm not going to force you to go anywhere, Apollo, you clearly don't want to leave that sofa," Phoenix said with a mischievous grin on his face.
Apollo was no fool, he could tell Phoenix was up to something.
"So, I've asked the doctor to come here to see you," Phoenix sounded very proud of himself.
Apollo face-palmed. "You really do want to prove I'm insane, don't you?"
"I'm just worried about you. Look, I think that you're suffering from depression," Phoenix said with worry in his voice. "If a doctor diagnoses it, then you can get help. I just want you to be smiling again."
"Fine, I'll see a doctor, but just because I'm not happy, doesn't mean I'm depressed," Apollo pouted.
An hour later, the doctor arrived. He asked to be given time alone with Apollo when talking to him as Apollo would probably feel more comfortable if Phoenix wasn't there. Phoenix decided to go for a walk to give Apollo some privacy when talking to the doctor.
The doctor asked Apollo about the symptoms of depression. He found that Apollo had a continuous low mood for weeks, was easily irritated, lost interest in pretty much everything, and had suicidal thoughts.
Apollo told the doctor about how worthless he feels all the time, and that he can't seem to think straight. He deeply wants to believe that everything's fine, but always ends up telling himself that everything's not fine.
After about twenty minutes of talking, the doctor had a good understanding of Apollo's confused mental state. A while later, Phoenix returned.
"How'd it go?" Phoenix asked as he entered the room.
The doctor got up and walked to Phoenix who was standing by the door.
"Mr Justice appears to be suffering from severe depression brought on by negative thinking-"
"I knew it!" Phoenix interrupted. He apologised to let the doctor continue. 'I would make a great doctor' he thought to himself as the doctor began to speak again.
The doctor looked at him, unimpressed. "He will require cognitive therapy. This will enable him to learn to think rationally again as his pessimistic views are preventing him from seeing things in a realistic way."
"Does he need some sort of medication?" Phoenix enquired.
"I believe drugs would be ineffective. We could try a placebo, but what he really needs is support from his friends," the doctor said, putting pressure on Phoenix to do his best to help Apollo. "Mr Justice appears to be over-thinking and under-thinking the things people say, so be careful what you say. If you say something nice, he'll think nothing of it, and if you say something that upsets him, he could take it really badly."
"So how am I supposed to help him?" Phoenix asked.
"Just don't say anything he might over-think," the doctor advised. "It's important that he knows he has someone to rely on."
After being handed the number of the therapist who Apollo would have to go to for the cognitive therapy, Phoenix thanked the doctor and showed him out.
"How are you feeling, Apollo?" Phoenix took a seat next to Apollo who was still sitting on the sofa.
"Depressed," Apollo stated bluntly while staring at the floor.
"Apollo, I know you must be upset to be diagnosed with depression, but when you have a problem, you have to face it and overcome it," Phoenix placed his hand on Apollo's shoulder. "If there's anything I can do to help you feel better, stop being so quiet and tell me."
Apollo nodded his head in agreement. He knew his silence was not helping anything.
"Hey, Apollo, I've been meaning to ask, why do you not wear your bracelet anymore?"
Apollo looked at his left wrist and remembered that he took it off and put it in his bag because it reminded him of his mum, and he had told himself that she would hate him if she what he had done.
"That bracelet helps you distinguish between truth and lies," Phoenix reminded him. "Maybe if you had been wearing it, it would have been easier for you to trust us and you wouldn't have to worry because you'd know if we ever lied to you."
Phoenix's advice had unintentionally made Apollo feel even more foolish and ridiculous. He glanced over his shoulder and scanned the room in search for his bag. He didn't know where Phoenix had put it.
"What are you looking for?" Phoenix asked.
"My bag. Where'd you put it?" Apollo was still looking around hoping to spot it before Phoenix could answer.
"Oh, I'll get it for you," Phoenix said as he stood up and began to walk to the other side of the room.
Apollo couldn't see his bag because it was underneath his coat, which was still filthy. 'Did I really wear such a dirty coat?' Apollo asked himself, feeling dirty.
Phoenix passed the bag to Apollo and he began to search through it. There were some food wrappers left from the food he had taken with him when he ran away. He collected them in his hand so that he could dispose of them properly in a bin.
"Here, let me deal with that for you," Phoenix said as he took the wrappers from Apollo's hand.
As Phoenix walked over to the bin to throw away the wrappers, Apollo shuffled through his bag some more and found his bracelet right at the bottom. He wiped a bit of dirt off it and slid it onto his wrist.
Before Phoenix was able to comment on it, Trucy burst into the room.
"I'M HOME!" the young magician shouted as she entered.
"Trucy, why are you being so loud?" Phoenix asked.
"Well, if Polly's being quiet, I thought I'd be louder to liven the place up a bit," Trucy explained. "I miss Polly's loud voice."
Trucy turned to see that Apollo was sitting there. She felt a bit embarrassed to admit that she actually missed how loud Apollo was especially because that was one of the things she used to tease him about most.
Apollo rubbed his bracelet; he was surprised that it hadn't reacted. He knew that Trucy must have been telling the truth about missing his loud voice. For a moment, he thought he felt happy that she actually liked how loud he was, but then the negative thoughts crept in like always, telling himself 'She probably only missed it because she found it entertaining to make fun of me about my loud voice'.
Trucy asked Apollo how he was feeling, and he replied as he had to Phoenix earlier, but saying that he felt depressed. Phoenix proceeded to explain to Trucy that Apollo had been diagnosed with depression.
She became even more worried about Apollo after this, and she felt a great sense of responsibility to help Apollo. She gave him a hug and told him that she would definitely find a magic trick that would cheer him up.
A/N: Gosh, I can write this, but I failed my depression essay in my psychology exam?!
I tried to add symptoms in previous chapters to hint at Apollo being depressed.