#aaaaaaaangst

Deceit’s face fell into a flat stare. “Oh sweetie.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s, ‘I plead the fifth.’”

Thomas didn’t falter. “No, the sixth amendment!” he insisted. “The accused—” he gestured to himself— “is guaranteed the right to a speedy, public trial, by an impartial jury!” He flung his arm wide to point at his anxious side in the juror’s box. “Virgil hates the prosecutor, and that’s not impartial!” Thomas pointed towards the back of the courtroom triumphantly. “Lawyered!” 

“That’s right!” Logan agreed, his voice drifting down to where the rest of them sat and stood.

“Well— I—” Deceit started to fumble, not nearly so suave when things weren’t going his way. Instead, his voice took on a petulant note, as he insisted, “Roman wants me to win, so—”

“W-w-what?” Roman half spluttered, half laughed. “Me? No— Co… come on…”

Their ‘judge’s half-hearted protests only earned another dry look from Deceit.

“I know you’re lying, Roman.” His eyes narrowed, the left one’s iris no more than a black slit. The corner of his lips quirked upwards. “Like I said— everything has a purpose... and you’re denying yours.”

“Stop it.”

The unexpected growl from Virgil caught the attention of Patton, but the moral side was the only one who seemed to notice— Roman and Thomas’s eyes were fixed on Deceit.

Ignoring Virgil, Deceit pressed on. “You want that callback so bad, and it will crush you if we miss it.”

“Stop!” Virgil snapped, lip curled. “Don’t you dare put this on him.”

“Oh it’s not on him—” Deceit turned towards Virgil, his face a mask of innocence. “Not yet. But it will be.” He rotated back towards Roman, head tilting. “After all, all of Thomas’s hopes and dreams are pinned on Roman. Aren’t they?”

Perhaps a little alarmingly, Roman said nothing— he just sank into his chair, looking uneasy.

“Deceit—” Virgil tried to cut in, but Deceit talked over him.

“Everything he’s ever worked for, everything he hopes to achieve.” Deceit continued to stare Roman down. “Every opportunity that could come from this—”

“Shut up!” 

“They would have you just throw it all away, and for what?!”

“Thomas…” Patton tried to intercede, his worried gaze flicking between the deceitful side and Virgil, who hands were clenching into fists on the wall of the juror’s box.

The anxious side was yelling at this point: “Don’t listen to him!” 

Deceit’s hands were planted on top of the bench, pushing forward into Roman’s space, the other side unconsciously leaning back. “You could do so much, you know you could!” 

“You’re assuming he’s even going to get the part in the first place!!”

Virgil’s angry cry brought all of them short. 

Thomas jerked upwards in his seat. Patton gasped, breathing his name; Logan went completely still with shock. Deceit looked downright appalled.

Roman reeled as though he had been struck.

And then, in an instant, Virgil’s hand yanked itself up and slammed over his mouth. 

There was a half second where no one moved or spoke, before the whole room erupted again, this time even more upset than before. Patton knocked his chair over as he leapt to his feet; Logan was rushing down the aisle towards the front of the room.

At first all Virgil could do was stand there, frozen, hand clamped onto his face. Then, as he overcame his initial panic, he fought to pull his hand free. Around him, the room grew loud with angry shouts and yelling, until finally, Thomas’s voice rose above all of the rest:

“Deceit, let him go!”

Deceit’s expression remained impassive, but he snapped his fingers, and Virgil yanked his hand off of his mouth with a harsh breath. The courtroom fell silent once more except for his gasping. 

Then Deceit’s mouth twisted into a semblance of a smile, though his eyes are were cold.

“I’m so sorry…” He spoke in a sotto voice that dripped with false remorse. “Knee-jerk reaction, quite impolite of me. What was it you were saying again, Virgil?” He folded his hands in front of him, never taking his gaze off of the anxious side.

Virgil still breathed hard, glancing up at Deceit. His eyes narrowed, before flicking back to Roman— 

Roman was staring down at the bench in front of him, not meeting any of their gazes, conspicuously silent.

Virgil opened his mouth. Then hesitated.

Deceit wasn’t about to let him off so easily. “Really, Virgil, I insist! Tell us all what you were going to say before I so rudely interrupted!”

Patton shot Deceit a pointed look, his voice low and admonishing: “Deceit…”

The dishonest side wasn’t having any of it. “Honesty is the best policy, after all,” he hissed, staring at Virgil, unblinking.

Virgil’s face and neck flushed with heat, as he could feel all of their eyes on him; he glared back at Deceit all the same.

That was, until… from the corner of his eye, he could see Roman’s head start to tilt up. Not far, just enough to glance his way— and Virgil faltered.

Virgil was caught in a no-win situation. He couldn’t lie and say that wasn’t what he meant— Deceit was just waiting for that, and would call him out in a heartbeat. If he stayed silent and refused, Deceit would just put words in his mouth— and it was as good as admitting that what he said was true, anyways.

But the truth itself… Virgil turned his head slowly towards Roman, and immediately wished he hadn’t.

Their eyes met; Roman silently implored him.

Virgil wished he could take it back. Wished he could lie. Wished he could sink through the floor.

Instead, finally— reluctantly, he spoke again.

“We… can’t just assume that Thomas will get the part, even if he goes to the callback,” he said at length, subdued.

The rest of them were utterly silent, and yet Virgil felt as though they are crowding around him, pressing in on all sides, and it was getting harder to breathe.

“And… if he doesn’t?” His eyes drifted to Thomas. “Then… missing the wedding? Lying… It would all be for nothing.” His eyes fell to the floor again. 

Still, no one said anything. Why weren’t they saying anything? God, would someone just say something?

When he could bear it no longer, Virgil started talking again— this time with his head tilted down, hiding behind his bangs. “Not getting the part would hurt enough. You know how hard it hits you— hits all of us. But dealing with the guilt of lying on top of it…?”

He let the question dangle, trailing off. He could see it had hit its mark; could see Thomas swallow hard, and hated himself that much more.

For at least eight full seconds, no one said anything.

Then:

“...Wow.”

Deceit’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but as he started shaking his head, he lifted his gloved hands and slowly began to clap. Virgil pulled himself up, tensing through his shoulders.

“I am impressed,” Deceit went on, admiringly. “You truly do not waste a single opportunity to tear Roman down.”

That got a reaction from all of them, with the worrying exception of Roman, but Virgil’s protest was the most visceral. “Wait, what— no! That’s not—”

“Not true?” Deceit finished, tilting his head curiously. “Well it certainly wasn’t a lie,” he remarked, turning to cast his gaze back towards Logan and Patton. 

“No!” Virgil insisted, whipping his head towards Roman and Thomas.

“You literally just said that you don’t think Thomas will get the part.” 

“I didn’t—”

Deceit spun back to Virgil, his eyes narrowing in accusation. “You don’t think Roman is good enough.”

“I didn’t say that!” Virgil yelled, looking back to the other sides desperately.

Patton rallied immediately, trying to add his support. “Virgil would never—”

Deceit talked right over him: “How many times have you shot Roman down?” This time, he advanced on the juror’s box. “Told Thomas it wasn’t worth it?”

This time it was Logan’s voice that tried to break through. “Deceit—”

—To no avail. “To ignore what he wants, to not chase his dreams??” Deceit demanded.

Virgil tried to protest. “I—”

Deceit’s hands slammed onto the wall between them, and Virgil stumbled back into his chair.

“How many times have you told him no?!”

“Deceit, stop it!” Thomas yelled over all of them, eyes clenched shut.

Everything halted, for just a moment, as Deceit turned back to Thomas with a look of surprise. But just as quickly it melted away, and the dishonest side sauntered back over to the bench.

“No,” he said, voice a low hiss. “You stop. Stop listening to your fear, stop stalling, and admit it: what am I doing here right now, Thomas??” He gestured wide, inviting Thomas to make any argument. He got none. “Am I the snake come to trick you into sinning? Or, have you had your mind made up since the moment you received the news about the callback?” He curled a lip, baring teeth on one side; Thomas had ducked his head, his face screwing up. “You didn’t even forget about the wedding, did you?? It was all an act!”

“Fine!” Thomas shouted at last, flinching as he did. “I want to go to the callback!”

They all went still, all eyes on Thomas.

“...Then, what’s stopping you?”

Heavy silence descended; Deceit’s eyes were locked on Thomas, who couldn’t look away, as desperately as he wanted to. Patton and Logan were watching helplessly from where they stood.

Virgil could only see Roman, wincing silently. His eyes clenched shut. His hands tightening on the edge of the bench.

What’s stopping you, Thomas?

All of Thomas’s hopes and dreams— what was stopping them? What was stopping Roman?

The same thing that always has.

Virgil sank into his chair, wishing he could disappear. 

Thomas inhaled, then let out a shaky breath.

“I… was planning on playing Word Crush on my phone during the wedding ceremony to keep my mind off the fact that I’m single,” Thomas started. 

He continued to explain, his voice distraught, but Virgil was too numb to process the exact words. The room was turning into a dull blur around him. None of it was really even registering, until Thomas blurted at last:

“I’m a liar!” He paused, as his admission sank in. “...I’m a liar,” he repeated, voice breaking and falling quiet. 

Virgil could only stare, breath caught in his throat. Thomas’s head fell, and he brought one hand up to rub at his brow, expression pinched. 

“…Haha! Yes!” Deceit crowed in delight, oblivious to the sense of defeat that had settled over the rest of them. “The prosecution rests, or whatever. Let’s just call it here and put him out of his misery!”

“…Does the juror have his decision?”

The quiet question from Roman jolted Virgil back into the present, and he gripped the edge of the wall before him, his heart racing. Almost on autopilot, he levered himself up, trying not to notice all of them staring at him— all but Thomas.

“Yeah,” Virgil started, hating the way his voice wavered. He swallowed, and tried to steady himself— to not let on how much it was upsetting him. “I hate to say it, but, the …defendant…”

Thomas’s head still hung, staring down at the bench, silent and small in his chair.

Virgil didn’t want to say it. Didn’t want to keep hurting Thomas. He had spent years hurting Thomas— but he had almost always been wrong. The truth had always come to light, in the end.

But this time, the truth was already out.

And no lie was going to take it back.

“…is guilty,” Virgil concluded, his voice barely audible anymore.