Josh's POV:

"Okay, Joshua." The man said, getting closer to me. "We need to talk. I told you, you can't change what happened last year..." Dr. Hill sighed, adjusting in his seat. "We can only affect the future."

"I... I know." I said, clasping my hands together, intertwining my fingers. "I just... if I had done things differently-" I began. I was cut off when he started speaking again. 

"You must accept it, and move on, Joshua." Dr. Hill said, leaning even closer. "You couldn't have known, nor can you change it. What happened, happened."

I only nodded. This, however, didn't stop him from speaking. "Now, Joshua, let's do a simple exercise." Dr. Hill said. "I want you to pick up the card, flip it over, and tell me how you feel about it." He pushed a piece of paper towards me. I hesitated before placing my fingers on the edge of it.

"Be honest, Joshua." He said as I flipped it over. I stared at a picture of a scarecrow, with a bright red barn in the background. "Alright Joshua, how do you feel?"

It makes me happy, or I feel uneasy.

"It, uh, it makes me uneasy." I said, pushing the card forward a little, trying to get it away from me. I wasn't sure what it was about the picture, but staring at it gave me a feeling of dread... a feeling of despair.

"Okay. Honesty is good." Dr. Hill said, scratching away with his pen at his notebook. "But, what exactly makes you feel uneasy about it?" Shit.

Could it be that stupid scarecrow, or is it something else?

"I... I'm not sure." I responded. The scarecrow bothered me, yeah, but not enough to make me hate that place. 

"If you don't know what it is that startles you, then why does it cause you anxiety?" He asked. "Could there be something in that house?" That's not vague at all...

But, in all seriousness... is there anything in that house, or am I just paranoid?

"N-No. There's nothing in that house. Nothing in that house is real." I stammered. Dr. Hill looked genuinely confused.

"Huh. So, if it's not there... then where is it? The field, perhaps?" He questioned. Where is what?!

Is it in the field, or not?

"No." I said. "No, it's not in the field." Dr. Hill frowned, and adjusted himself in his seat. It gave a loud squeak as he pushed himself forward. 

"Then... is this threat even real? Could this all be... your imagination?" He asked. I looked down at my shoes.

Is it? Am I imagining a threat, or is something very wrong with this picture?

"It's... It's gotta be my imagination." I said, looking up at him. He gave a light smile. 

"Ah. I see. You seem to possess a very active imagination." Dr. Hill said. "Alright, Joshua, time for another exercise." He swooped up the picture and set it to the side. He picked up a leather book and set it in front of me. "Now, I need you to flip through the pages. When you do, you'll see some symbols and pictures. I want you to identify which one makes you the most anxious."

I grabbed the book and sat it on my lap. Why am I doing this? What will this prove?

The first two pictures were of a man and a woman. 

Men or women?

"I'm more afraid of women." I said, turning the page. The next page had two photos, one of an airplane, one of a large crowd. 

Airplanes or crowds?

"A-Airplanes freak me out." I said. I turned the page again. Again, I was met with two photos. One showed a picture of a women in high heels sitting on the edge of a skyscraper with her legs dangling over, while the other showed an arm protruding from a large body of water.

Heights or drowning?

"I-I hate them both, but drowning has always scared me." I said. I flipped the page and saw a picture of a rat, and a picture of a snake. Geez, that's not a difficult one.

Snakes or rats.

"Rats. Definitely rats." I said. Snakes didn't scare me. After all, I am a Slytherin. I turned the page again. I saw a picture of a gun, and a picture of a large kitchen knife. 

Knives or guns?

"Knives. A gun would be kinda quicker, but a knife would hurt." I said. My reasoning was probably weird, but it was how I felt.  turned the page and saw a picture of a cockroach, and another rat.

Rats or cockroaches?

"I hate any kind of bug, so I'm gonna say the roach." I mumbled. Dr. Hill continued to write. 

On the next page, my options were a clown and a scarecrow. I felt my skin crawl as I stared at the white face of the clown. Should I tell him that, though?

Truth or lie?

"Honestly, the clown freaks me out." I said. I turned the page again, and frowned. Gore, or crows?

Gore or crows. 

"I've seen too many horror movies to be affected by gore anymore. That leaves crows by default." I said. I nearly jumped when he slammed his hand on the desk in front of me. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you? You're doing very well, don't be nervous." He pulled a metronome out from his desk drawer and set it on the desk. "Although, try to be quicker with your answers. The faster you are, the more honest you'll be." I nodded and turned the page.

Spiders or cockroaches?

"I hate spiders." I said. The eight-legged freaks always scared me.

I turned the page again. This time, I frowned at my options. 

Crows or needles.

"Definitely needles." I said. I hated getting shots, because it always hurt. The next page put me at a crossroad.

Clowns or zombies?

They both freaked me out. I hated clowns, but I felt the same way about zombies. 

"God... zombies, I guess." I said. The next page showed a needle and a large dog.

Needles or dogs?

"Needles. I love the doggos." I smiled. I turned the page again. 

Storms or needles?

"Definitely needles." I said, yet again.

Dr. Hill stopped the metronome again. "Alright, Joshua." He grinned. "Thank you for answering... so diligently. Spiders, zombies, and needles. Sounds like some combination. Sounds like a good Friday night!"

"Y-Yeah." I said, unsure how to respond. Dr. Hill smiled and flipped a page in his notebook. 

"Alright, Joshua, I have one little exercise left. But first, I have some questions for you." He said. "Some people fear the supernatural, ghosts and such. Do you share this fear?"

Yes or no.

"No, no I don't believe in ghosts." I said. Dr. Hill nodded. 

"Your friend, Samantha, has quite the fear of the supernatural. How does that make you feel?" He asked. 

Do I feel bad, or do I not care?

"I feel bad for her." I said. Before I could explain, he began speaking again.

"Which is more important, loyalty or honesty?"

Loyalty or honesty?

"Definitely loyalty." I said. Dr. Hill nodded.

"So... you would tell a lie in order to be loyal to a friend. Okay." Dr. Hill said. "What about loyalty versus charity?"

Loyalty or charity?

"Charity." I responded. He smiled. 

"Such a loving and giving person. Very nice." He said, writing in his book. 

"Alright, I'm about to show you pictures of people from you little friend group. I want you to pick one person from the pairs that you like more. Maybe you don't like someone as much as you pretend to." Dr. Hill said. I flipped the page in my book and looked at a picture of Sam, and a picture of me. 

Samantha Jackson or me?

"Sam." I said. She was like family to me. She helped me after my sisters disappeared, and I helped her mourn Beth. 

"Okay... next couple." He said. I flipped the page. Emily, or Matt.

Emily  Harrison or Matthew Jefferson?

"Matt." I said. I had no problems with Emily or Matt, but Matt was generally nicer. I flipped the page.

Christopher van Buren or Ashley Madison.

"Not difficult, my Cochise." I said. Dr. Hill looked confused. 

"Chris." I explained, flipping the page. 

Mike or Jess? Oh boy. The guy I've had a thing for since middle school, or the girl who was dating him, and started the prank last year?

Mike Monroe or Jessica Adams?

"Mike. Definitely Mike." I said, feeling my face redden. Either Dr. Hill didn't notice, or didn't care. I turned the page. 

Emily or me? 

"Emily." This time, I wasn't sure why I said it. I just let my mouth speak for me. I flipped the page again, and saw Ashley and Jess.

Ashley or Jessica?

"Ashley." I said. Again, not difficult.

As I turned the page again, he looked at me. "Now, tell me, who it is that you most dislike?" 

Jessica or me?

"Je... me." I said. I know, I should hate her. I should. But, I can't. Jess wasn't supposed to be watching them. She even apologized. It may be like putting a band-aid over a broken window, but it was something. And it did mean something to me.

"Hmm. Well, Joshua, I think I've finally started to understand you." Dr. Hill said. His grandfather clock chimed, signalling my session was over.

"Well, Joshua. Have fun on your trip." He said, I looked confused as he got up, and walked away. The noise from the clock slowly became more mechanical as my world faded to black.

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I awoke to my alarm clock going off. "Jeez, what was that about?" I asked, throwing myself out of bed. I fixed my hair in the mirror quickly, and grabbed my bags I had packed. 

"Alright Josh." I said, starting my car. "You gotta be at the airport in an hour. Let's go... back to Blackwood Pines."