The main issue with introducing yourself, is the split-second, fundamental panic that comes with deciding which name you should use. Anxiety Side, for one, hated both his names and refused to introduce himself using either of them. It would probably be a blessing to be fused, since he would be given a new name to introduce himself; one that wasn't embarrassing or, well, bad. He didn't want to be known as Anxiety. The other people in his class, they had good, fine names. Things like Sensitivity or Ambition or Respect. But Anxiety? His name was a fucking mental illness. No one wanted to be known as that.

He was incredibly unlucky by having an Established name that was equally horrid - Virgil. He didn't get the luxury of having at least one name that was cool. Nothing about him was cool. Which is why no one would ever want to fuse with him.

So, what does Anxiety say when someone asks his name?

"Mr. Side." Anxiety said, shifting away from the other person.

"Yeah, but what Side?" The person would always say. "I'm a Side, too, and you don't see me hiding my trait."

This is how Anxiety quickly decided if you were worth his time. Those who just nodded and carried on with their own introductions? Good. Not Scary. Keep those ones around. Those who got angry and tried to force Anxiety's name out of him? Bad. Scary. Do not interact.

The worst times were when he, for whatever reason, had to say both his names. Like at the doctors. You see, doctor's offices and other governmental programs refused to let you go by just 'Mr. Side'. For whatever reason, they would shout out your full name in the waiting room, for all to hear. Anxiety hated it. He hated that everyone turned and looked to see who had the two shitty names. He hated that everyone took one look at him and thought, 'glad he's not my Side'. Doctors liked to pat themselves on the back for their 'confidentiality', but they lacked the tact to remember that not everyone liked themselves and that some names were better left unsaid.

This is where Anxiety is now, sitting in a stiff chair, scrolling through his phone and practicing his breathing exercises. There are only a few other people in the waiting room; an old man, a mom, and her kid. Anxiety doesn't make eye contact.

It's just a dumb routine check-up. A large part of him wants to skip it, to walk out and not have to be around when they call out his name. But a bigger part of him knows that if he didn't get a checkup, he would soon realize that he has some horrible, deadly disease, and then he'd get incredibly sick, and then he would have to check into a hospital, and he would hate it, and have a panic attack, and - knowing his luck - he'd probably die.

So. Here he is. Anxious and miserable, just like his name.

"Look, babe, I don't got to be here, okay?" A voice was saying. Anxiety glanced up, only because the person was rather loud. It was some guy; tall with brown hair, and sunglasses perched on his nose, despite being indoors. A total tool. He had a companion, someone who was facing the other direction, talking to the front desk. The companion had shoulder-length brown hair, and was wearing a dark blue jacket that went well past her hips. She had to keep pushing her sleeves up while she wrote things down. The man took a long sip from his coffee before saying, "I'm the epitome of health."

"We both know that's a lie." The woman said, turning around. Anxiety shifted a little. There was something familiar about her. She was scowling a little, "And take those off, we're inside, and you look like-" her scowl disappeared as she cheerfully ended with, "a million bucks!"

Anxiety frowned a little, watching them more closely. The woman winced and held her head, and the man touched her shoulders, whispering something Anxiety couldn't hear.

"Is she alright?" The fusion at the front desk asked.

"Fine, just a headache." The man responded for her. Then, quieter, "Let's sit down, okay, Missy? I'll take off my glasses, just- just chill, okay?"

The woman, Missy, nodded, and the two turned to the chairs. Anxiety quickly glanced away, mentally repeating 'Don't sit by me, don't sit by me, don't sit by - dammit!'

The duo sat down right across from him - why do waiting rooms always have chairs facing each other? They were still focused on each other, the man fussing over Missy, and Missy leaning against him with her eyes closed.

"Just rest, babe." The man said. "Do you want to fuse?"

It was in that moment that Anxiety realized what must be wrong. Some Sides, when unfused or unestablished, can have pains when they express their trait. Kind of like an extra 'fuck you' from God. Sometimes Anxiety's chest hurt, but that could just be the, you know, anxiety. Anyway, his theory is that it's a not-so-subtle way of your body telling you to hurry up and find your other Sides. It was awful.

Missy shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm fine. Take those off." She grabbed the sunglasses and put them into her purse. The man gasped, offended, before crossing his arms and looking away from her.

That's when everything froze.

Anxiety's breath hitched and he dropped his phone, it clattered, falling to the floor. The duo looked up at him, and he could see it in their eyes. They recognized him in the same way he did them. They shared the same face.

He didn't know what to do. He had never met potential Sides before. He stared at them, frozen, even as they scrambled across the aisle to take the empty seats on either side of him.

"Oh, hello there!" Missy said excitedly, grabbing his hands, squeezing them once.

"Handsome face you got," the man said, running a finger under his chin. Anxiety pulled away from him, scowling. His anxiety spiked, the rushing of blood in his ears overpowered all his thoughts. He turned to Missy, who seemed slightly less scary, but she was looking at him so hopefully and that turned out to be scarier than Sir Flirts Alot.

He ended up just staring down at his phone, which still laid on the floor in front of them. He was panicking, he could feel it. That's not right, he shouldn't be freaking out, these are his Sides. They're supposed to calm his anxiety, make him feel full and complete. And yet-

"So, I'm Remy, I represent Proper-"

"More like Improper-" Missy interrupted. Remy rolled his eyes and playfully flipped the other Side off.

Remy continued, "Sleep, and this is Missy, she's Femininity, Compliments, Nagging-"

"Hey!" She grinned.

The two were so familiar with each other, it was hard for Anxiety to focus. They switched between who was talking too quickly, they bantered and joked, and that was fine, but Anxiety felt like he was missing the punchline. His mind felt fuzzy and he kind of wanted to cry.

Stupid! He told himself, this isn't how you're supposed to feel. Why aren't you happy?

"What's your name, stranger?" Remy asked suddenly.

"Mr. Side." Anxiety replied, his heart in his throat. He couldn't make eye contact, and he wasn't sure why his own face was so terrifying.

Missy and Remy glanced at each other, quiet for a moment.

"And your actual name?" Missy asked, softly. She didn't seem upset, and Anxiety felt a small calm sweep over him. But it was gone a second later. He chewed his lip, unable to speak his name out loud.

Here goes. He thought. Here's the moment when they reject me.

"Remus Sleep Side?" A nurse asked from the door to the private rooms. Remy glanced from the nurse to Anxiety, then to Missy, before sighing loudly and standing up.

"I have to go." Remy said, "But we'll continue this."

Anxiety watched as Remy disappeared behind the door with the nurse. He wasn't even upset that the other Side got to see the doctor before him. He was just glad he could have a second to breathe.

"We didn't mean to scare you."

Anxiety jumped, he had forgotten Missy was there. He turned to see his face - but as a girl - staring back at him. She was pretty, and her eyes held a kindness to them that he found himself trusting. Maybe she could be his other Side? Maybe he was just being stupid, paranoid, as usual.

"It's okay." Anxiety said, "I wasn't scared, it was just … a lot."

"Sorry. We're just excited. We've been looking for our other Sides for a long time, now." Missy explained, "We were starting to think they were on the other side of the world or something. And then, just when we're about to give up hope, there's you."

Anxiety didn't say anything. What could he say? That he wanted to fuse, but there was no way they'd like him. That he was bad and that they should look for someone else? That there's no way he'd ever meet their expectations? In the end, he just shrugged.

"Can I have your number?" Missy asked after a second of hesitation. "Just so we can stay in contact. We could set up dates, and fuse, find our other two Sides-"

"Okay, sure, fine," Anxiety said, finally snatching his phone from the floor. The familiar weight calmed him for just a moment, but then he shoved his phone into Missy's hands and muttered, "I'll text you."

Missy silently typed in her number and passed the phone back. She placed a hand on his arm and said, "Don't worry. We won't force you to do anything you don't want to."

Anxiety nodded once, and opened his mouth to speak, but then his spine went rigid as the nurse called his name.

"Virgil Anxiety Side?"

He stared at Missy, eyes wide. She watched as he slowly stood up, and turned to the nurse. He closed his eyes, his fists clenched at his sides, and took a deep breath. He walked forward and ignored the tiny "oh" of understanding coming from behind him.

Welp. Now they knew. Now Missy will tell Remy what Side he is and they'll decide that they don't want Anxiety and he'll be alone forever. He was shaking as he walked into the doctor's office. He didn't look back.

He wasn't going to text her.

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