Warning: Rated for Yaoi, swearing/slang, shipping, USUK and many others.

Aaaaaand here's the chapter most people I'm sure have been dreading.

Sorry if you don't want it to happen, but it's imperitive that it does.

Enjoy anyway!

In My Mind's Eye

Chapter 10: Imaginary

"How are you feeling today, Alfred?" Dr. Edelstein asked, sitting with his legs crossed in an arm chair while holding a notebook and pen. The man was practically the picture in the dictionary that you would see when you looked up the definition of "shrink". I laid back in the uncomfortable chair he sat me on, looking at Arthur and holding his hand. Why was I even here?

"Fine," I said, hoping if I talked small, it would deter the man from getting to whatever point he wanted to get at. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work.

"That is good," he continued, "and how is your family?"

"They're fine, too."

"How is your father?"

"Fine."

"Your mother?"

"In Canada."

"Your step-mother?"

"My dad's girlfriend."

"Your twin?"

"In Canada."

"Your big brother?"

"Here and fine."

"What is your big brother's name?"

"Arthur Kirkland."

"Where is Arthur from?"

"England."

"Where in England?"

"Wherever he felt like living." Arthur had told me that he didn't exactly have a permanent home in England, so I assumed he must have been nomadic.

"Was there anywhere he enjoyed the most?"

"I don't know," I said, feeling like clamming up. Arthur looked a little anxious, taking in a few deep breaths.

"I see," the doctor said as he wrote down some notes in his notebook. "And does he miss England?"

"I don't know."

"Have you ever been to England?"

"No."

"Has anyone you ever known been to England?"

"My grandmother was born and raised there."

"Your grandmother? On which side?"

"My mother's mother." The doctor began writing again,

"Your mother is in Canada, correct?"

"Yes."

"Do you miss her?"

"Of course."

"Of course?"

"Of course I miss her," I sighed, feeling like tearing up. "It seems like every year, I see her less and less. I sometimes find myself wondering if she even knows that she has a son in America, since she already has a son with her."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because she doesn't need me if she has a son with her."

"Do you really believe that?" I was caught off guard by that question, and remained silent for a while.

"…I don't know." The doctor closed his notebook and stayed looking down.

"Thank you for coming here, Alfred," he said carefully, "let us talk again next week. I am interested in learning more about your troubles." I exited the office of Dr. Edelstein, feeling dazed and confused about what had just happened. My dad took me home, and it seemed like the world was a blur. When I finally got to my room, I sat on my bed and looked at the wall.

"Alfred, please listen to me!" I heard Arthur's voice, sounding slightly distant and desperate. I whipped my head to where he was, sitting right next to me and with both hands on my shoulders. He had tears flowing out of his eyes, looking like he had just lost all that he had.

"What's wrong, Arthur?" I asked, holding him close, my eyes mirroring his worry. He opened his eyes wide, and then smiled like I had never seen him before. He looked…relieved. He embraced me, kissing my cheek and then all over my face.

"Oh, Alfred!" Arthur collapsed his forehead on mine, still crying. "Y-You didn't respond to me at all! I tried talking to you the whole way back from the doctor's, but you never even heard me or saw me!"

"Arthur…" I gasped, my body shaking in disbelief. How had I forgotten Arthur's mere presence? "Arthur," I said a little angrily now, gripping Arthur's body. I had grown a lot from when I first met Arthur, and was reaching up on his height. My arms held him close, not letting him go. "That doctor," I growled, "he made me forget you! I forgot about you because of those damn questions of his." I looked up at him and pressed our faces together. Sometimes, whenever Arthur or I felt upset, we would rest our faces on each other, Arthur saying it was like we were taking in the pain of the other. I wasn't going to let Arthur stay upset with this awful occurrence. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes, looking into each other eyes and sighing. It seemed that all sadness that ever happened would melt as we kept each other close, the two of us needing each other to make all of our troubles go away. Arthur and I needed each other and that was that.

When the time came for my next appointment with Dr. Edelstein, it took the combined strength of dad and Emma to drag me out of the house and put me in the car, and even more strength to get me out of it once we got to the shrink's office. They finally got me in the chair, and the dull Dr. Edelstein didn't even look up as I hit the seat that I was forced onto.

"Please sit down," he said, sounding annoyed. I glared at him but did sit down, folding my arms and then grabbing Arthur, holding him close on the chair with me.

"You made me forget Arthur, you know," I said, glaring at him. For the first time, the doctor looked up at me with sudden interest.

"I did, did I?" I hated how he seemed to make everything a question.

"Yes," I said spitefully, "you made me not see him for almost a whole hour!"

"And how did I make that happen?"

"I don't know."

"Let us review what I asked you about last week, shall we?"

"Oh…kay?"

"When we last talked, I believe I asked you about your mother…Why do you stiffen when I mention her?"

"I'm not stiffening."

"You straighten up and fidget when I mention her—that is called stiffening."

"So what if I am?"

"It means you have more to tell about her."

"No it doesn't!"

"When did your mother leave?"

"…When I was seven. A week after me and my brother's birthday."

"And when did you meet Arthur?"

"Around the end of Summer. The day before the last day. I was coming home from school when my friends and I were attacked by some bullies. I stayed behind to protect them."

"Were you badly hurt?"

"Yes."

"Where did you go?"

"Some park bench."

"What happened next?"

"I remember…crying. Crying and wishing I wasn't alone. I then felt my head in someone's lap and…Arthur's hand caressing my hair. He kept saying I wasn't alone. I-It really comforted me."

"That is how you and your big brother met?"

"Yes."

"Had you ever seen him before?"

"No."

"What do you think your mother would have done had she been there in the park with you?"

"Well…I suppose…she would do the same as Arthur. She'd reassure me I had loving people all around me and that I was never alone so long as she was around." I stopped for a moment, and then I felt the tears sliding down my face. "Why'd she have to go in the first place? Didn't she love me?"

"Alfred…"

"Yes?"

"What do you think your brother would have done if he was there?"

"I…Matt would…Matt would be encouraging me that I really was a hero. He'd tell me that I did well and that I should never think I was alone. That I always had him to be my friend forever. Matt…I miss him a lot, too."

"Does Arthur remind you a lot of your mother?"

"Now that I think about it, he really does."

"What about Matt?"

"He's like him, too."

"So the two people you miss the most are the two you see the most in Arthur?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why?"

"No."

"Please, can you think a little harder? What is it about Arthur that makes him so similar to them?"

Suddenly, the room seemed to be lifted in all its weight. I thought for a moment, and then began to speak out loud, looking at the faint outline next to me of my "big brother".

"You're not real, are you, Arthur?" I saw the outline move, but it was so blurry, I couldn't distinguish what it was doing. "It's okay," I continued, smiling a little, feeling like my heart was getting lighter and lighter as I did, "I understand now. You were my mother for me when I needed to be responsible, and also when I needed comfort. You were also my brother when it came to all the wonderful play time we had together. Thank you. You made my childhood magical…but I'm not a kid anymore. I think it's time now that I move on from being a kid. And I've also learned something. You only came to be because I was lonely. I think you've fulfilled your purpose, though, because I'm not lonely anymore. Thanks for being there when I was, though. You've been really wonderful to have, and I loved having a big brother, but I'm ready to go back to being on my own again. I don't need you anymore."

The outline faded, and as I turned back to the doctor, I nodded and smiled, standing up and heading for the door.

"Thanks," I said, opening it and exiting the room. As I stepped out, however, I accidentally bumped into a girl a little younger than me, maybe about ten years old.

"Oh, sorry," she said, pulling her hands close to herself, two long braids on either side of her head waving back as she took one backwards step.

"It's okay," I said, facing her and holding out a hand, "my name's Alfred, what's yours?"

"Elise!" I heard someone call, stomping coming from behind me. I turned around to see a face I hadn't seen in five years—that of Vash Zwingli. "Elise, what did I tell you about talking to strangers—" Vash stopped and looked up at me, his eyes widening. "Alfred F. Jones?"

"Hey, Vash," I said, waving a hand. I looked back at the younger girl, who I assumed was Elise. She seemed to be so happy looking at him.

"Big brother!" She exclaimed as she ran into his arms. Vash kept staring at me.

"What were you doing in Uncle Roderich's room?" He asked seriously.

"I was moving on from my past," I shrugged, memories of Arthur fading away in my mind.

"An imaginary friend?" Vash asked with growing impatience. I was stunned.

"How did you—"

"It's his specialty," Vash blurted, looking at me with worry.

"Well…yes," I said, "he helped me move on from my imaginary friend because he made me realize I didn't need him anymore.

"You…didn't need him?" Vash sounded hurt at the statement, his eyes widening. Elise looked just as broken hearted at me.

"Yeah," I said uncomfortably. Luckily, I heard my dad call for me. "Well," I shrugged, "see you around, I guess." I walked off with my dad and Emma, who were smiling at me.

"We heard you are no longer lonely," Emma said, seeming content with herself. While I normally would have felt disgusted by her conceit, I didn't this time. I could vaguely understand what they must have had to go through, since even though I didn't really accept her as one, she was really like a mom for me.

"Yes," I answered, walking between them and sitting in the back seat, watching the city fly on by until we got home, where I walked into my bedroom, and for the first time in a long while, didn't know what to do. I looked around and saw the computer in my room that dad had gotten me, which was supposed to be only for school work, though I could tell at times he wished I spent more time on it. It was a real top of the line, too, with a sleek screen and everything. I sat down at the desk and clicked on the icon for the Internet. I surfed a while on it and found a few websites that interested me, one for sports, one for videos, and a couple of blogs as well. That was the day my teenage years really started.

The Internet is vital in any teenager's life!

Dr. Edelstein = my future.

Vash is pretty easy to figure out, isn't he...unless you don't pay attention, I guess.

I'm even surprised sometimes where this story goes. But I like it!

Please review if you like it, too~!