"My god, you're such a fucking garbage fire!"

"You're the one talking, ya cunt!"

"Talk to me like that again, and I'll eviscerate you!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep!"

"I'll fucking kill you!"

"Try it!"

Anti grinned as the verbal fight went on between him and Jackie. He seemed to have bumped into him again and afterwards, their rivalry for one another grew to dangerous heights once again.

Anti couldn't say he didn't enjoy it. Seeing Jackie so engulfed in rage and disgust. It was so unlike him usually.

Unless he was in Anti's vicinity, of course.

"Alright, alright! Knock it off already!" Henrik walked up to try and stop them from fighting but Anti was having too much fun with this.

"Always the good guy until it comes to me, huh!?" The glitch laughed in his face, "You must hate me so fucking much! Such a hypocrite!"

Jackie shoved Henrik away, "You think you're any better than me?! You've tried to kill us so many times before! You're nothing but trash!"

"Well I don't see anyone jumping in to agree with ya"

Jackie snorted, a bit calmed down after that comment. Staring into Anti's eyes as if he couldn't believe he just said that, "Pft . . . . You really think they're on your side?"

"Jackie-" Marvin tried to butt in but Jackie wasn't about to let this go. What was Anti thinking?

"No . . . . no. Where do you think Chase is right now, Anti? If he actually cared about you, wouldn't he be down here, too, trying to defend you?"

"Jackie, enough." Henrik tried to stop them again, "You vill just agitate things further!"

But Anti wasn't stupid. He knew in the back of his mind . . ..

"None of us give a FUCK about you, Anti! Once a murderer ALWAYS a murderer! None of us trust or care about you and that's all on you! You're nothing but a cold-hearted monster!"

Jameson signed aggressively, 'That is enough! You cannot speak for all of us!'

"Oh, so you all want to lie now? It was just the other day we all were talking about how we hate him and now you all want to shove that conversation aside like it never happened?"

Anti's grin faded off . . .. slowly turning into a frown.

'What? . . . . They all really . . . no, no. That can't be right. Chase cares . . . . he always has. Right?'

Jackie continued his verbal assault, "And if you think Sean cares about you at all, you have another thing coming. The only reason he hasn't killed you off yet is because he doesn't know how!"

"Jackie, stop it! That's enough!" Marvin threw a spell at him, effectively shutting him up and turning him mute.

They were all on edge.

They tried to just explain that to Anti.

But after that particular conversation, Anti couldn't explain how much pain he was in or why.

And instead of telling Henrik about it, he merely went back up to his room.

'Who cares what hero says anyways. It's like Marvin says, right? Sean hasn't let any of us out for a while. We're just all uptight. He hasn't forgotten about any of us. He hasn't forsaken us.'

He wondered, though, about Chase. Was what Jackie said about that true?

Anti wouldn't be surprised if it was.

A few days later, Anti hadn't left his room. He felt . . . . . odd.

Was he pouting? Or was he actually depressed? Maybe just angry at Jackie and he didn't want to be around him again. Whatever the case, Anti refused to get out of bed not that anyone knocked on his door to check on him.

And the longer time creeped by, the more Anti realized Jackie was right.

They might all act like they care . . but the truth was they d-

'Knock Knock!'

Anti jolted at the sound.

After spending so much time in silence, listening in on them all through the vents, he hadn't expected the noise just outside his door.

Cracking his back, Anti glitched to the door, looking through the peep-hole.

"What you want? I'm busy"

"No, you're not. Open the door"

Anti hated this but he couldn't just ignored them all.

He opened the door to find Jackie with a plate in his hand covered in foil.

They stared at each other for a while until Jackie finally sighed, "You were right before"

Anti blinked. That was unexpected.

The hero waited for a response but continued when he didn't get one, "What you said before about me only getting riled up around you. You were right . . . .and it's not . . .that's not fair of me. It was wrong to lash out at you like that."

Anti looked away, "Whatever . . . . it's not like you're wrong about everyone hating me. Not that I care"

"Sure, you don't. Look . . . Apparently Chase had been gone the other day. Sean took him for a brief project and that's why he wasn't around to . . you know. Needless to say, he found out about our fight and gave me an ear-full. Will probably try and check on you later, too"

"So you're just apologizing because daddy told you to?" Anti smirked slightly, waiting to see his reaction.

Jackie just rolled his eyes, "I wouldn't laugh. He's just as much YOU'RE dad, too, then. . . . Anyway, I brought you up some dinner. Figured you're probably hungry since you haven't came down to eat for a while"

He handed Anti the plate and cautiously, the glitch took the foil off, revealing a full plate of spaghetti and meatballs and a piece of garlic bread, "Chase made it. . . . Anyway, you don't have to hide up here anymore just so you know"

"I'm not hiding!"

But the moment Anti looked back up at Jackie, he paled, his breathe getting sucked out of him.

The hero looked like a corpse . . . rotting and bloody.

Lashes all throughout his body. His intestines just showing through his uniform. His eyes dull with maggots crawling in and out of the sockets.

Anti let go of the plate but luckily, Jackie was quick on his feet and grabbed it before it could fall on the floor and shatter.

"Hey, what's up with you?!" Jackie didn't understand what suddenly happened but he saw the fear in the glitch's eyes. How pale he suddenly got. The shivering.

"Anti . . .. you alright?" he gently shook his shoulder and Anti blinked, looking around like he had seen something horrifying, "Dude. . . . what just happened to you?"

"I . . .. n-nothing" he frowned again and acted as if nothing happened, "Nothing h-happened. Mind your own business" he took the plate again from him but Jackie stopped him from walking away.

"Anti . . . I know we might not get on the best of terms" that was an understatement, "But if you're going through something . . I'll listen. You can always talk to us"

"Nothing's going on! Leave me alone" his neck started to dribble a little blood from the scar.

"Anti, this isn't the first time you've freaked out like that. If something is troubling you, you really need to-"

But Anti didn't listen and instead, made the door glitch so it'd slam in front of Jackie, effectively shutting him out.

'As if any of them would understand' he thought to himself, 'They don't really care . . . . . it'd only make them fear and hate me more. . . ..'

He opened the foil off the plate and stared at the food, 'Not even I understand. This itch just won't go away . . . . .. '

.

.

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'What's wrong with me?'