~Prince's POV~

I walk down the hallway until I reach Anxiety's door. I knock but it doesn't open. I frown. "Anxiety?" I call, knocking again, slightly worried. No answer. I try to open the door but it's locked. Now I'm really worried. I knock frantically. "ANXIETY?!?! Anxiety open up!!!!"

"I'm fine... just go away..." The reply is faint but I still hear it. It calms me down a little.

"Anxiety? Please open the door?" I ask in a soothing tone. There's a pause... And then a click. I open the now unlocked door

I enter to see a teary-eyed Anxiety curled up on his bed. I immediately feel bad for him and go to comfort him. I sit down next to him and wrap my arms around his shaking form. He tenses at first, but then melts into my touch, crying into my chest.

"Shhhhh. It's okay, you're gonna be alright. Shhhhh" I whisper. He looks up at me and I realize how much this is affecting him.

The younger personality has tears flowing down his face, cheeks red and puffy. His eyes are irritated from crying and his eyeshadow is smudged and mixed with tears. He sobs as he looks up at me... And it breaks my heart.

"It's not..." he says​, barely audible.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"It's not," he repeats, louder this time, "It's not going to be okay. It's never been okay and it's never going to be! You don't understand what this is like! You don't... Understand..." his voice breaks at the end. He's so broken...

"Oh... I'm sure it's not as bad as you think." I try to reassure him.

"Not as bad as I think? That's a laugh! Like you would understand! You've never dealt with anything like this. No, they love you. But me? I'm hated for doing my job! I'm hated for something out of my control! You think I make Thomas suffer? How do you think I feel? Sure I give him anxiety every now and then but I have to deal with that twenty-four/seven! I don't have good emotions to bring me out of the darkness!" he rants, practically screaming.

I'm shocked. I had never realized...

"Anxiety, we don't hate you," I tell him, "Me, Logan, Morality, and Thomas--"

"Thomas?!?! As if THOMAS even remotely likes me! HE TRIED TO GET RID OF ME!!!" Anxiety screams.

I'm taken aback by his outburst.

He's right... How could I ever understand what he's going through...

I don't know what to say to him after that... So I don't. I just hug him. I hold him close because I know he needs it right now.

He continues to cry and I continue to hug. I rub his back and play with his fringe and he seems to calm down a little.

We stay like this for a while. It's peaceful. He's so much different right now than how he normally acts. He really is just like the rest of us... scared, vulnerable... he just wants to be accepted....

We stay like this until he eventually falls asleep, his chest gently rising and falling. I carefully slide out from under him and lay him on his bed, tucking him in.

Now to deal with Thomas.