A/N: I just reached post limit on tumblr. Oh shit.

9 Years Old

Arthur

"Alfred will be home from school soon Arthur. Are you going over his house?"

"He has more friends now. So they may be coming over today. That's what he said yesterday, remember Peter?"

Peter looks at the bed for a minute and then smiles.

"Oh yeah! Matthew and I were waiting in here while you two were talking the other day."

I smile and pull out my sketch book. Peter crawls over to me and smiles. I start to draw a tree when the door opens. I look over and see Matthew walk in and sit on the bed next to me and Peter.

"Hi guys. Sorry I was late. Mother wouldn't let me leave without cleaning my room."

"That's fine Mattie!"

"That's alright. Mum doesn't like my room to be messy either."

For the next few minutes Peter and Matthew watch me try and draw an apple tree. The, my mum walks in with a laundry basket and sets it on the floor.

"Arthur, it's time to put your laundry away."

"Alright mum. Come on Peter, Matthew, help me out with this."

The three of us get off my bed and start putting the laundry away.

"Darling, who are Peter and Matthew?"

I look up at her and furrow my brow. I point behind me and then look but they aren't there. I look back towards my mum and I see them quietly slip out of the room.

"Uh, nobody. Never mind mum."

"Okay poppet."

Alfred

"Guess what I heard Al! I heard that Ivan likes Natalia!"

I look at Jake all surprised like with my mouth wide open.

"Gross! Girls have cooties!"

"I know!"

Jake pushes up his glasses just as the bus stops. I look out the window and grab my bag.

"My bus stop. See you at school on Monday."

I hop off the bus and start running to my house, but then I stop and look over at Arthur's house with the green door and blue shutters. I haven't visited Arthur in a few days. I'm sure ma wouldn't mind. I turn and run up to his house and knock on the door. After a few seconds Miss Ellen opens it.

"Oh, hello Alfred, Arthur is upstairs putting his clothes away. Oh and if he mentions a Matthew or a Peter, just go along with it."

I blink for a second and then head upstairs to his room.

Arthur

"Artie!"

I look up quickly just in time to see Alfred tackle me to the ground with a large grin on his face.

"Oh, hi Alfred."

His grin turns into a frown.

"What's up with that buddy?"

"Nothing, you just don't come over often and I was really surprised to see you here."

Alfred pushes himself off of me and I noticed that he lost a few pounds since we last actually hung out.

"Well I have to get home right now. Ma said she wants me back by 3:10 or else I'm in biigg trouble."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you soon then. Bye."

"Bye bye!"

12 Years Old

Arthur

"Arthur dear? Your father and I would like to have a word with you."

I look up from my copy of Lord of the Rings and place it on the end table. My parents come over and sit down on my bed. I sit up and fiddle with my grey t-shirt.

"What is it?"

They look at each other and then back at me.

"Listen, your mother and I, well…"

"Your father and I were discussing, and we feel that we have let this go on for far too long. We are having you go and see a therapist twice a week on Tuesday's and Saturday's starting tomorrow."

I sit there for a minute and stare at them. Then, I see Peter and Matthew walk in and sit down on the floor next to the bed.

"Why do I need to go see a therapist? I'm not insane."

"Arthur, your friends, Peter and Matthew, don't exist."

Those words felt like a giant knife flying into my chest. Matthew and Peter were my best friends aside from Alfred. But let's face it, I barely ever see him anymore. But seriously, how could this woman say that he youngest son doesn't exist?

"Big brother, don't listen to her."

"She just doesn't like us Arthur."

I look back and forth between my parents and my closest friends. This is impossible. They are as real as ever.

"I'm not going to the therapist. I'm not crazy."

"Arthur please, it's for your own good. We already have Dr. Lukas scheduled to come here tomorrow and just evaluate you. I already informed him about your Selective Mutism, so he won't push you to talk."

"I'm not going to do this. You can call him up and cancel."

"Hello Arthur, I am Dr. Lukas. Today is just an evaluation. Any further appointments will be determined by what happens today. Do you understand?"

I look down at my feet and nod my head slightly. My heart is racing at the thought of having to try and talk to him at some point.

"Calm down Arthur. It's not like he can make Peter and I leave the room."

I look over at Matthew sitting in front of the bookcase with Peter on his lap. They're presence relaxes me a bit.

"Now, I was informed that your 'friends' are named Matthew and Peter. Am I correct?"

I focus my attention back to my feet and nod my head.

"I have some more questions that require more than a yes or a no. Would you be okay with writing out your answers? They can be as brief as need be."

I look up at the therapist as he hands me a pad of paper and pencil.

"Now, how old are they?"

I think for a second and write down my answer. Matthew-12, Peter 10.

"So they are near your age then. That is to be expected. Would you like to draw what they look like? As best to your ability that is."

I think for a few minutes and then roughly sketch both Matthew and Peter on a clean piece of paper and then hand it to Dr. Lukas. He examines this for a few minutes and writes down some notes.

"I heard that you have a friend named Alfred. Could you draw him for me?"

He hands me back to paper and I draw Alfred to what I think he looks like since it has been a few weeks since we have last seen each other. I then hand it back to him and the look on his face tells me that something isn't right.

"It seems that you have created these manifestations to fill something. Peter has a slight resemblance to you. Is there a reason for that?"

Peter is my younger brother.

"I see. And what about Matthew. He bears a pretty close resemblance to Alfred does he not?"

His answer catches me off guard and I somehow verbally answer him.

"That means nothing. Plenty of people look alike."

I automatically cover my mouth with my hand and I could feel myself begin to shake a little bit.

"I see. Well can you describe the personalities of your little brother and your friend?"

Peter is a bit loud sometimes but a very well behaved boy. Matthew is very quiet and doesn't try to make his presence known.

"I see. Are Peter and Matthew here now?"

Peter left the room a while ago. Matthew is sitting in front of the bookcase. Can't you see him?

"No I cannot. But I think that is enough for today. You may go to your room."

I sit there for a minute and then put down the pad and pencil and then head up to my room.

Alfred

"Alfred! Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland are here! They would like to speak to you!"

Shit! I fumble with my zipper but get it up without incident. I hop off my bed and run down the stairs and into the den. Mr. Harold and Miss Ellen are sitting on the couch with some old dude I've never seen before. Things were getting blurrier every years but I could still see people from farther away. I walk over and sit down in the recliner.

"This must be Alfred I presume?"

"Whoa, what's up with him? Why is he here anyways?"

"Alfred!"

My ma smacks the back of my head.

"It's fine April. He is going to be a teenager soon after all. Anyways, this is Dr. Lukas. He is a therapist that Harold and I have gotten to speak with Arthur."

What?

"Wait, why does he need a therapist? Art's perfectly fine. He's not crazy."

"Tell me Alfred, when was the last time that you and Arthur have had a real conversation."

"What the-? Well, last time we really talked, I guess it was a few months before we turned twelve. We kinda grew apart in 1st grade when Arthur had a panic attack and passed out. His parents took him out of school and I ended up making some new friends. I still get teased for my weight though. I am only 5'4" and 160 something pounds."

"Ah. So it all began with the parents. The lack of social interaction with nobody but Alfred seems to have triggered a gene within Arthur to prematurely put him into Schizophrenia. The Selective Mutism does not help either. But I think that when they slowly began to grow apart, Arthur created a second hallucination that seems to resemble Alfred but has a seemingly opposite personality. I will prescribe him medication that will stop the hallucinations if he takes them every day. He will also meet with me once a week instead of twice a week."

This is bullshit.

"Arthur isn't crazy. To hell with you, to hell with all of you."

I jump up from the recliner and run up to my room and slam the door behind me.

A/N: This went differently. Actually, the story went completely different than I expected. But oh well, my fingers have a mind of their own and it ended up with this. I still know what the later chapters will be though.