Chapter Two
Two weeks.
It's been two entire weeks without seeing Sebastian. His new doctor keeps them up to date on his treatment-which isn't going well. Or at all.
Shortly after his transfer, Sebastian fell into severe depression. The doctor said that degeneration is to be expected in a case like Sebastian's and that depression is all too common, but it's easy to see that Sebastian isn't meeting the doctor's expectations.
Most of his days have been bad days. He's slipping further and further under the control of his illness. He barely speaks unless he's screaming, he won't eat, and even though he doesn't leave his bed, the delusions won't let him sleep.
He's given up.
And on the fourteenth day, Kurt decides he's done waiting for the doctors to tell him he can go ahead and visit Sebastian. Blaine is in school and he is alone. He used to like being alone sometimes. It gave him time to focus his thoughts and just think, but lately being alone with his thoughts is torture.
He shows up at the facility and demands to see Sebastian's doctor.
"Mr. Hummel, I wasn't aware I was scheduled to see you today," the doctor greets but Kurt isn't interested in niceties.
"I've been waiting two weeks, and I can't wait anymore. I understand the facility's policy, but keeping him locked away without visitors is not helping. If anything, it's making it worse. Sebastian doesn't do well with alone, and while I respect that your policy is to give him time to settle in and he hasn't been settling in, you can't just keep telling us we can't see him-"
"Us?"
"Yes, my boyfriend and I would like to see Sebastian."
The doctor shoots Kurt a confused look. "I thought Sebastian was your boyfriend..."
Kurt nods. "They both are."
A knowing look troubles the doctor's face and he rolls his chair to the side to pull a file-presumably Sebastian's-from a cabinet. He perches his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and reads from the chart. "This boy's name wouldn't be Blaine, would it?"
"Yes. Blaine Anderson."
The doctor frowns, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Mr. Hummel, I apologize most sincerely," he says, looking appropriately abashed. "It seems as though there's been a mistake."
Kurt grits his teeth. "What kind of mistake?"
"Every night we have a nurse checking in on Sebastian every half hour. And most of those nights, he's mumbling to himself about a boy named Blaine. We began to treat it as a delusion and-"
He's been telling Sebastian that Blaine is just a figment of his imagination. Murderous rage flashes through Kurt and he's on his feet in a second. "Take me to him. Take me to Sebastian now or I'm taking him out of here and filing a report with your superiors."
The man stands up and holds his hands out in surrender. "Yes, I think it might be best if we let you see him. I believe we've found a cause for his depression."
A low growl escapes Kurt's throat and he fights every urge inside himself to tear the man limb from limb. Seeing Sebastian is more important. He sends a text to Blaine telling him that he's to go to the hospital the second school lets out and follows the doctor to Sebastian's door.
Looking inside the clear pane toward the top of the door, Kurt can see Sebastian curled in on himself, tears falling down his cheeks. He passes the doctor brusquely and opens the door. Sebastian doesn't even look up until Kurt moves to sit on the bed beside him. "Hey, sweetheart."
"Hello." It's far too formal. He doesn't remember who Kurt is. He looks a little disappointed and lays his head back down.
"What's the matter?" Kurt asks, resting a hand on Sebastian's arm.
Sebastian sighs. "I was just hoping for someone else."
"Who?"
Sebastian sits up, pulling his knees to his chest and propping his chin on them. "My boyfriends," he mumbles into the fabric of his sweatpants. "I miss them so much. They haven't been to see me, but I know they still love me. I'm sure they're just busy."
"I'm sure they miss you with all their hearts." Kurt smiles softly and rubs a comforting hand across Sebastian's back. "Why don't you tell me about them?"
"They're perfect." It's a simple declaration. "Kurt is beautiful and smart. God, he's beautiful. And Blaine is-" He breaks off and shakes his head.
"Tell me about Blaine," Kurt prompts.
But Sebastian shakes his head again. "I-I thought he was real, but the doctors told me I made him up. They said Kurt's real, but I made Blaine up, but-but I didn't. At least, I don't think I did," Sebastian whispers brokenly. "He's amazing. He's warm and kind, and I really hope I didn't make him up, because I love him just as much as I love my Kurt."
"Your Kurt?" Kurt smiles. He hasn't heard Sebastian call him that in weeks.
A soft smile touches Sebastian's face. "It's what I call him sometimes. I kiss him on the forehead and tell him he's 'my Kurt'. It always makes him smile." He looks up toward Kurt's face to see that the words did in fact make him smile and a look of recognition dawns on his face. He pitches forward and throws his arms around Kurt's neck. "Kurt! Oh my God, babe!"
Kurt returns the embrace and it feels just like coming home. "Hi, sweetheart."
"Blaine!" Sebastian pulls back to look into his eyes, desperation on his face as he continues. "They told me Blaine's not real," he panics. "They said I made him up, but I-"
Kurt just shakes his head, hands framing Sebastian's face. "The appropriate source of that lie is going to be fired by the end of the day. I plan to find out whose fault it is." Kurt pulls out his phone and dials Blaine's number. It takes a couple rings before Blaine answers.
"Kurt? What is it? What's wrong? I'm in the middle of Calculus..."
"Nothing's wrong. Well, nothing you can't fix," Kurt answers. "Hang on." He puts the phone on speaker and holds it out to Sebastian. "Here, honey. He misses you so much."
Sebastian takes the phone in shaking hands. "Hi, beautiful."
Kurt can hear Blaine's voice hitch before coming out rapid-fire. "Seb, baby! Hang on. I'm leaving school." There's the quiet dinging in the background indicating an open car door before it slams. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Good luck convincing them you're real," Kurt fumes under his breath, his voice snide and bitter.
-x-
It's quiet in Sebastian's room. The only sound being the synched breathing of the three boys on the bed. Given the fact that Sebastian's bed is just a large twin, it's a tight squeeze, with Blaine pressed flush against the wall, Sebastian all but lying on top of him, and Kurt pressed against Sebastian's back.
"The doctor thinks that something really bad happened in my past that I don't remember," Sebastian says out of the blue.
Blaine brushes hair from Sebastian's forehead. "Yeah. He said that to us, too."
Sebastian sighs and lets his eyes slip closed. "I mean...my childhood kinda sucked, but whose didn't? Everyone has issues andthey're not crazy..."
"You're not crazy, Sebastian," Kurt is quick to correct. "You're just sick. You'll get better."
"He said that I have to try and remember what happened. He said that one of my alters probably remembers because he was out to deal with it." He huffs out a gust of air and sits up, shifting to throw his legs over the side of the bed and drag a hand through his hair. "God, I knew I was fucked up, but this is just-"
Kurt is by his side in a flash. "You're not fucked up, Seb."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am, babe," he answers with a cold laugh. "Since I was a kid, there are time when I've just gone away. I lose hours and sometimes days at a time and wake up in strange places. Babe, people don't do that. People don't just black out and not remember what the fuck they've been doing for the past few hours."
He reaches over and takes Kurt's hand. "What if I had hurt one of you?"
"You wouldn't. Skylar isn't violent. He trusts us-" Kurt breaks off at the shocked expression on Sebastian's face.
"What are you talking about?" The words are tense and guarded.
Blaine puts his hand on Sebastian's knee and looks into his eyes. "When you were in the hospital, one of your alters came out. It happened when you called us the night you hurt yourself, too. From what I've read online, I think he's the one who comes out when you're scared or hurt. He helps you deal with it."
The three jump when there's a knock on the door. A nurse peeks her head in. "Oh, good. I was wondering when you were going to get out of that bed," she jokes kindly, smiling. "Who are your friends?"
"Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson," Sebastian answers slowly, eyes flicking back and forth between the pair before squeezing his eyes shut, taking a breath, and trying again. "They're my boyfriends."
The nurse smiles politely and nods. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, but it's time for Sebastian to see the doctor."
"I want Kurt and Blaine to come with me. I feel better with them here," Sebastian says quickly, his voice firm.
"I'll need to speak to Dr. Bennett, but I don't see why it would be an issue," she offers, crossing the room to rest a hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "I'm glad you've found something to make you feel better. I hated to see you moping around in bed. I was about to take a hose to ya just to get you moving," she teases, smiling and touching his face.
Sebastian returns the smile. Kurt and Blaine breathe a sigh of relief.
-x-
Sebastian opens up to the doctor, answering all the questions honestly without holding back information. Apparently, he'd first remembers noticing the voices in his head when he was eleven. When he started noticing the new alter about a year ago, he'd panicked and started stealing his mother's Valium to cope with the anxiety. It had worked well enough that he'd started buying the medicine illegally from a friend.
He doesn't remember anything that had been happening during that time that might have sparked the creation of the new alter. It was when the doctor asked if Sebastian could let him speak to Skylar that things started to go downhill. Fast.
The switch had been remarkably seamless. The only thing Kurt noticed was Sebastian blinking quickly twice before his entire posture softened, his hand lifting to tug at his ear nervously.
"Skylar?" the doctor asks quietly, leaning forward to meet his gaze. Skylar bites his lip and casts his eyes to his lap. "Skylar, can you tell me how old you are?"
He shakes his head and there's a tremble in his shoulders. Kurt can see Blaine hesitate for a second before clearing his throat. "Maybe if I sat with him?" he suggests and the doctor nods. Blaine climbs to his feet silently, crossing the office to sit down on the couch. Skylar shoots him a wary glance and Blaine nods in encouragement, reaching out to take his hand. "It's okay. You can tell him. Kurt and I are here."
Skylar looks up to meet Kurt's eyes and smiles nervously. "You come too?" he asks, holding out a tentative hand toward Kurt.
"Okay, but if I come over there, you have to tell the doctor what he wants to know, alright?" Kurt bargains. Skylar bites his lip but nods, leaning into Blaine's side and ducking under his arm to hide his face. Blaine presses a kiss to the top of his hair out of habit as Kurt sits down and rubs over the wing of Skylar's shoulder. The doctor repeats the question and Kurt nudges the shy alter. "Go ahead, sweetheart."
He stretches up to whisper into Blaine's ear. "He says he's eight years old."
The doctor nods but speaks in a stern voice. "I'd like him to tell me himself."
Skylar shoots the doctor a fearful glance and stretches up to whisper into Blaine's ear again but Blaine shakes his head and pulls away. "No. Tell him." He points to the doctor. "Kurt and I are here. We won't let him hurt you. Go ahead."
Skylar takes a deep breath and holds his head up. "My name's Skylar and I'm eight years old and I don't wanna talk anymore."
It all comes out in a rush before he buries his face into the crook of Blaine's neck, but even in the jumbled rush of words, it's easy to spot the difference between Skylar and Sebastian. Aside from the obvious mannerisms that speak to the nervousness of the shy personality, now that they're paying attention, there's a stark difference between their voices.
In the months that they've been unknowingly interacting with Skylar, he'd never spoken until the night he first introduced himself. Before then, he'd been imitating Sebastian's voice in an attempt to blend in and stay unnoticed. Skylar's voice is soft and sweet, shy and quiet.
"Skylar," Kurt chides. "You promised. Remember how you said you'd help Blaine and I help Sebastian?" Skylar nods. "The doctor wants to help him."
"Will you keep us safe?" Skylar asks, quiet and unsure. The doctor nods. He takes another deep breath and squares his shoulders. "Okay."
The doctor clears his throat and nods once. "What is your purpose?"
"I come out when Seb is scared. He doesn't like when people yell at him, but I'm used to people yelling at me," he says slowly, toying with his fingers and flicking his eyes up to judge the doctor's reaction.
"What do you do when people start yelling at Sebastian?"
"I run away. I'm a good hider."
"Do you hide at Kurt and Blaine's houses?"
"Yes. They love Sebastian and they make me safe. Blaine holds me real tight and Kurt plays with my hair until I fall asleep. I like that." He looks toward Kurt and gives him a shy almost-smile.
Dr. Bennett writes something down in his notebook and frowns. "Skylar, how long have you been with Sebastian?"
"Long time." Anxiousness starts to radiate from the alter again and he lifts a hand to tug at his ear.
"Can you tell me about when Sebastian was your age?"
The question sparks panic in Skylar and he shakes his head. "No."
"I think you can, but you won't," the doctor prompts, searching, but Skylar just shakes his head jerkily.
"No! No! No!" he cries out, pulling his knees to his chest and starting to rock. His hands flash to cover his ears. "I don't trust you!" It's shrill and terrified and all at once, he's off the couch, running across the room, dropping down and wedging himself between a bookcase and the wall. His entire body is trembling in fear and he has his head buried between his knees to hide his face.
Kurt flicks an anxious glance between the doctor and the boy huddled in a corner, pleading silently, and the man nods. He's off the couch and across the room in a second, dropping down and running his hand through sandy blond hair. "Honey, you did a good job, okay? You don't need to be scared."
Skylar looks up and meets Kurt's gaze. "I don't wanna talk anymore today." It's barely a choked whisper and Kurt nods, turning back to the doctor for confirmation.
"Okay. Can we have Sebastian back?"
"The bad one wants to come out," Skylar whispers, leaning close to Kurt. "He wants to hurt Seb and I don't want him to. Don't let him out. He's saying bad things. Very bad things."
"What's he saying?" Kurt asks, and Blaine stiffens, desperately wanting to run over and comfort.
Skylar shakes his head. "He's a liar. He makes Seb think bad things." He swallows again. "Don't let him hurt Seb."
Kurt runs another hand through the alter's hair. "I'd never let anyone hurt him. Will you bring Sebastian back out now, please?"
He nods, closing his eyes tightly. It takes a couple seconds before they blink open again, slightly confused. His eyes dart around the room and his spine stiffens. "What happened? How long have I-?"
"Just a couple minutes," Kurt promises, resting a hand on his boyfriend's cheek. Sebastian winces and shakes his head as if to clear it. "Do you hear the bad one?"
Sebastian looks up. "The bad one?"
"Skylar says there's a bad one. The one who hurt you and makes you think bad thoughts."
"It's always there. But like, sometimes, it's like they're louder. Like it's thinking for me," he says, swallowing thickly and looking toward Kurt with pleading eyes.
Kurt nods slowly. "Is it like that now?"
There's a tense silence for a beat before Kurt gets a reply.
"Do you know how many guys he's fucked?" The voice is hard and cruel and pitched a bit higher than the voice Kurt's used to hearing. "How many he's let fuck him?"
His spine stiffens and he looks toward the doctor before turning back with hard eyes. "No, but I'm sure you'll enlighten me," he bites back, just as cold.
"He's fucked at least twenty boys prettier than you." Sharp green eyes scan Kurt's body, appraising and judging before he laughs coldly. "I expected more. Even a slut like Sebastian should have higher standards than you."
The alter stands up and strides across the room, leaving Kurt sitting shocked on the floor. He sits down on the couch beside Blaine, crossing his legs very properly and smirking at the doctor. Kurt snaps out of it and quickly moves back to the couch, sitting between the alter and Blaine protectively.
Dr. Bennett tilts his head to the side and asks, "Are you the one who's been hurting Sebastian?"
"Oh yes," the alter says with a nod. "That would be me."
"Why do you hurt him?"
"Because I fucking hate him," the alter laughs. "He thinks that there are no repercussions to his actions. He's a pretentious, selfish little slut-"
"He's not a slut," Blaine snaps, unable to hold his tongue.
A look of mild surprise crosses the alter's face before sick amusement replaces it. "Well, you are pretty, aren't you?"
"Knock it off," Kurt barks, low and quick, and the alter laughs.
"Oh, the bitch is protective," he purrs, grinning slickly. "I like it."
The doctor seems determined to refocus the alter's attention. "What is your purpose?"
Laughter rings off the walls of the room. "You think you can just get inside my head just like that? Fuck with my brain and figure out why I'm trying to hurt poor little Sebby?"
"What's your name?" Dr. Bennett tries, but the alter laughs again.
The alter shrugs. "I'm not sure," he teases. "Maybe I don't have one. I sort of like that, actually. The nameless man bound and determined to give Sebastian what he deserves. Righting the wrongs of the past. It's kind of poetic, don't you think? Kind of like a superhero."
"You're not a superhero," Blaine growls, voice lined with steel and sharp as a blade. "And I'm not sure what crusade you're on, but I'm not going to let you hurt him."
"Oh, sweetie," he sneers, his voice saccharine sweet and mocking as he holds up his wrists to show the deep gashes marring the skin. "Looks like I already did."
Kurt reaches over to hold Blaine's shaking hand, squeezing tight. "Just tell us your name," he orders in a clipped voice.
The alter clicks his tongue. "But where would the fun in that be?" he asks, flashing a smile that widens as he continues. "I'm not going to kill him right away," he starts, his smile twisting his features into something sickly pleased. "I'm going to make him want to die before I finally kill him. I'm going to fuck with his pretty little mind and slice up his pretty little body and then I'll kill him. But not until he begs for it." He laughs quietly at his own apparent humor. "I'm going to torture him." Another laugh, this one almost gleeful.
"What makes you hate him so much?" the doctor asks again but the alter just gives a smile before holding his finger over the top of his arm and dragging his fingernail down the skin, hard. Less than a second later there's a gasp of pain and the hand recoils before clapping down over the angry red line.
"Sebastian?" Blaine asks and Sebastian looks over to meet Blaine's gaze. The smaller boy throws his arms around his boyfriend's neck. "We're going to keep you safe, baby. I promise."
Sebastian swallows thickly and returns the embrace, uncertainty written plain across his features.
A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. :)