((You ever get random inspiration at 3 am? Yah that's why I wrote this ))

Another hour passes without much to do. Then another of just staring at the ceiling. And another...

Anti stayed quiet within my mind, leaving me completely alone. Chica still refused to come near me, and this time it did bother me... I felt the need of some contact, something.

The silence is slowly killing me. I don't dare turn the tv on again, afraid to cause a full blown panic attack. I don't want to know how many people are talking about the 'escaped patient'.

So I sat, waiting as the minutes ticked by. Finally... I had to talk to someone... Something.

"Anti...?"

Silence is my only response.

"Anti... I know you're there."

Still nothing. He seemed intent on ignoring me. Of course it's the one time I want to talk with him. I hesitate a moment, chewing on the inside of my lip until an idea hits me, something that always seemed to get his attention, not neccisarily in a good way....

"Septiceye."

That's when I feel his prescense again. He tenses, making my breath outwardly hitch.

"Don't... Call me that..."

The cold voice made me stop once again, hesitating. That name, everytime it was uttered he went from a confident, sarcastic asshole, to almost a scared child. He would never dare let that fear show, but I could feel it everytime Dark called him that. It only made my curiosity grow.

"Sorry..."

I mutter out the apology, though not apologetic in the slightest. Either the demon doesn't notice, or simply doesn't care.

"What did you mean before?"

More silence follows, and for a moment I believe he won't answer. So when his voice pipes up again, containing that same sincerity it's almost surprising.

"I meant you need to get out of here..."

I narrow my eyes, staring at nothing but the ceiling by now.

"You mean you need to get out of here? You just want to get away from Dark..."

The demon hesitates again, and for the first time I feel almost a pity from it. Not the pity Dark had shown me, no something darker, almost as though offering condolences with no words.

Partially, yes... But you need to get away from him... Before it's too late...

An involuntary shiver runs through me at those words. I almost regret resorting to conversation with him.

"What does that mean?"

I can almost hear the demon sigh. I wait patiently for a reply, which takes at least a full two minutes.

Look, believe me or don't.... But Dark and I go way back... I know how he gets... You may not believe this, but he's worse than I am...

I outwardly scoff, feeling the demon almost glare at me if it were possible.

"Worse than you? Doubtful... He seems... Almost human... Sympathetic even."

Anti doesn't scoff like i'd normally expect, he doesn't glare, he doesn't do anything but offer a soft voice, almost pathetic compared to his usual cocky nature.

Exactly... He's cunning like that... And you've fallen right into his trap...

I go silent once again, feeling my fingers grip into the fabric of my shirt as he continues.

You won't see him coming... He'll be nice... Kind, helpful even... Until...

The sadness that enters his voice stops me cold, why did he sound broken? Why am I believing his story, this is the demon that has tortured me so long... Why am I starting to take his side.

"Until what...?"

My voice leaves a weak whisper as he stops short. I feel him think, as though unsure how to word it.

Place a frog in boiling water, he'll hop out... Place a frog in warm water and slowly turn up the heat, he'll stay until he boils alive...

Never had I heard a metaphor with such warning. Never had a metaphor, about a frog nonetheless, sent such fear barrelling through me.

I open my mouth to ask, I want to know more... I need to know more...

Before the words can even leave my mouth a banging on the front door startles me into a sitting position. My eyes dart to it.

"Mark Fischbach, open up!"

A deep voice yells through, I stand slowly from the couch, feeling my breathing pick up, heart racing I walk backwards. What do I do?

"Fischbach, LAPD, if you don't open up we won't hesitate to come in..."

I feel my eyes widen, LAPD... That's the police right?. What do I do? what do I do?

Hide...

Anti speaks up, I almost feel myself relax slightly at his presence. Listening to his voice I turn, where do I hide? Where do I go. I run to the first place I see. A small coat closet at the side of the living room.

I run to it, closing the door and encasing myself in darkness.

The front door opens loudly, I hear two, no three sets of footsteps enter. A few murmured words amongst them, and then I hear the few of them spread. One goes what sounds like the direction of the kitchen, another I hear stomp up the stairs. And the final one doesn't move. I can almost feel his eyes scan by the closet I kneel in.

My hands go to my face, cupping over my mouth to stifle my breaths. My heart beats so loudly in my ears, I fear he'll hear it. My breaths come in short spurts, the makings of a panic attack, and the covering of my mouth didn't help.

His footsteps move slowly over the carpet. I feel a tear escape from beneath my eyelid as I blink, eyes focused on the crack of light that peeked from underneath the door. A small almost whimper escapes me as he moves again, and I feel a familiar pressure gently on my skull.

Unless you want more blood on your hands... I suggest you stay silent...

Anti's normal state returns, if not a bit angry. I feel his tension, prepared to take over if needed. Neither of us want to go back to that asylum, that much I can tell.

I listen to him, taking almost a comfort in that pressure against my skull, one I'd normally hate, it offered something for me to count on... I may not be able to do anything... But Anti could...

I simply pray they stay away from the door, I don't want any more blood... No one else needs to die...

More quiet steps, he seems to examine everything in the small room, from the way the remote lay forgotten on the sofa, to the pillows piled to one side of the couch.

My breaths shorten as he comes closer, my eyes clench shut as more tears squeeze free, my heart feels as though it'll explode any second. I bite my tongue as to not sob, my hands cup tighter around my mouth to quiet the panicked breathing.

Once my eyes open again I see it, a shadow cutting off the light beneath the door. My panicked breaths stop, heart rate increasing if it were even possible, I taste blood on my tongue as my teeth bite down harder.

Anti presses against my skull with even more urgency. I almost see that familar green in the corner of my eyes.

I just pull back, about to let him take over.

~~~~~~Mark's POV~~~~~~~

Another day, almost feeling as though things had returned to normalcy, except for the constant worry I felt leaving Sean alone.

Dark stayed quiet throughout the day, leaving me to talk with the patients that came in and out of my office.

Most of them were nothing, not compared to what i've dealt with the past few days. Some with simple paranoia, others extreme cases of depression, and a select few with less common symptoms.

So when it was time to leave, I'd never felt so relieved. It almost seemed as Dark couldn't wait to leave, a part of me waved it off as not trusting Anti, but there's something else there... Not that he'd admit it...

The drive home was silent, I didn't bother turning on the radio, each station still caught up on the story of the escaped Sean. One would think they'd find something better to talk about.

I pull up to my driveway, feeling panic immediatly overtake me. Two cop cars sit parked by my curb, and my door lay wide open.

Cussing under my breath I climb out of my car, feeling Dark press against my head anxiously, I resist the urge to yell at him, tell him to back off.

As I run inside, the first thing I see is the cop from before, hand on the doorknob of my coat closet, and the living room a slight mess as though he'd been searching through it.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing in my house?!"

The man jumps slightly, startled by my sudden prescense. His hand drops from the door handle and I can almost see him cuss under his breath.

Turning to me with a polite smile, I simply glare in return. Dark continues pressing against my head, a newfound anger exerting from him, which i'm sure translated partially into my glare as the cop gave me almost a strange look.

"Mr. Fischbach... Sorry to intrude, but you weren't home and it was urgent... We-"

"Do you have a warrant?"

My voice comes out a low snarl, I silently shove Dark back, trying my best to keep his anger in check, though it continued to show through me. The man's polite smile falters, a deep frown replacing it's fake nature.

"Well, no but-"

"Then Get. Out."

The venom in my tone startles even me. The cop's eyes narrow, and for a moment it seems he'll get angry, do something regrettable. Instead he huffs, choosing to not mention my constant interruptions.

"Let's head out guys!"

He calls through the house. Another officer walks out of my kitchen, and soon after another from up the stairs. I glare at each as they pass by, walking out my door.

The familiar officer stops outside my front door, eyes moving to gaze around my house once more before landing on me with a stern glare.

"We'll be back, Mark..."

I return the stare, pressure increasing against my skull as Dark pushes for control, almost trying to hurt the man in front of me.

"Bring a warrant next time..."

I snarl out simply, slamming the door loudly. Once i hear the two cars pull away I let the silence wash over me.

My eyes move around the living room, listening closely until I hear soft, quick breaths from the closet the officer once stood in front of. I feel Dark cool down, anger replaced with a passionate worry, the one i'd felt from him before.

I walk forward, head pounding as the demon kept pushing, making each step a struggle. Finally I give a hard shove back, feeling his anger grow once again, this time towards me.

"Back off..."

I snarl under my breath, this time the anger fully mine. Dark says nothing, receding and leaving an echo of fury behind. I don't have time to worry about it as I take the last few steps, opening the closet door slowly.

Teary blue eyes move up to mine, Sean's breathing shallow as his hand cupped around his face, quieting any sounds. Relief floods his eyes as I kneel down, giving a weak smile as to comfort him.

"It's okay... They're gone..."

I let any anger I felt still through my head fade, leaing my voice a soft, sympathetic condolence. His hand slowly drops from around his mouth, breaths becoming less shallow, but not any slower.

His body shakes fearfully. I reach out with one hand, watching him tense backward, before slowly reaching out to take my fingers in his own. I slowly pull him up to his feet, keeping his knees from giving out as I do.

He takes a second, hand still within mine, before he moves forward, arms wrapping around my torso carelessly. I immiediately let his hand go, opting instead to wrap my arms around him in return, rubbing small circles into his back.

His breathing slows after a while, shaking dies down ever so slightly.

Feeling him having relaxed I slowly lead him backwards to the sofa, sitting him down. He refused to untangle his arms from around me, making it so he almost sat on my lap.

I continue to rub circles into his back.

As I sit there the anger returns to my head. A new anger i'd never felt from Dark before, an anger i've never felt from anyone to be honest. The anger was red hot, echoing through my being and almost sending fear through each nerve.

The anger almost felt like... Jealousy...