“I’M NOT A FUCKING CHILD!”

Heart screamed at Mind. They were so sick and tired of him looking down on them, treating them like a little kid, just because they had different views. They wiped their tears with the sleeve of their hoodie, practically shaking with rage.

“You think you’re not a child? Maybe come back and try convincing me when you’re not a sniveling wreck.”

There went Mind, talking to Heart like they were a toddler again. Heart glared at him through a blur of tears, and they could just make out the smug look on Mind’s face. 

“Stop talking to me like a kid.” Heart’s voice trembled as they spoke. Like a child. No. They aren’t a child.

“Then stop acting like one.” The obvious disgust in Mind’s tone made felt like a punch in the gut to Heart.

Mind had his arms crossed, looking down at Heart, his eyes narrowed. He arched an eyebrow, clearly waiting for Heart’s response, but Heart said nothing. 

Heart was holding back another round of tears, squeezing their eyes shut and clenching their fists so hard that their nails cut into their palms slightly. They hated this, they hated it so much, they wanted Mind to just go away and leave them alone and shut the fuck up-

“Well?” Mind’s voice cut through Heart’s thoughts like a knife. “Are you going to stop acting like you’re about to combust, or—“

Heart cut him off with a shrill cry, a strangled sob escaping their lips. 

“SHUT. UP. SHUT THE FUCK UP.”

“Or what?”

Heart went quiet at those words, staring at the ground. Another sob caught in their throat.

“What will you do to me if I don’t?” Mind asked quietly. Mockingly.

Heart’s sob escaped as a small laugh. They looked up at Mind, an unsettling ghost of a smile on their face. They knew exactly what they were going to do. They were going to make the torment finally end.

“I’ll shoot you. I’ll fucking shoot you.”

Silence.

“You wouldn’t.” For the first time, there was something else in Mind’s voice. Fear?

Heart reached for their gun. Something they always kept on them. They weren’t supposed to use it unless they absolutely needed to. But Heart did need this, they didn’t know how much longer they would last with Mind always pushing them around.

With shaky hands, Heart trained the gun directly at Mind’s forehead. Mind took a single step back.

“Heart, think about this.”

“I just did.”

Heart shut their eyes. The gun felt cold and heavy in their hands. They put their finger on the trigger, their heart pounding. Should they do this? Yes. There wasn’t any more time to second-guess themselves. They pulled the trigger.

Bang.

A thud, likely Mind collapsing.

Silence again.

Heart opened their eyes. Their breath caught in their throat at what they saw. Mind, on the floor, but alive. The bullet had hit his throat. His blood-covered hands hovered near the bullet hole, and he stared at Heart in horror. Blood. So much blood. Mind tried to speak, but nothing came out. Blood spilled from his mouth as well as the wound in his throat.

Heart dropped the gun, feeling nauseous. They just shot Mind. This was their fault. They could barely even hear the hurried footsteps, coming toward the room Heart and Mind were in.

“Heart? Mind? What happened?” Oh, God. Soul was coming. And Heart just tried to kill Mind. They almost killed Mind, Soul was gonna be mad, he was gonna be so mad-

Heart flinched back as Soul burst into the room frantically. “I heard—“ he froze when he saw Mind, bleeding, the gun on the floor, and. . .

He locked eyes with Heart. Shock, at first. Then anger. Heart’s chest tightened, and they backed away from Soul.

“Heart,” Soul said, in a strained voice.

“I’m sorry- I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking straight, I wasn’t-“

“Did you just shoot Mind?” Soul sounded. . . calm. Eerily calm. It wasn’t right.

Heart swallowed. Their throat felt dry. They drew in a short, sharp breath. It felt like the air was being squeezed out of their lungs. They simply nodded.

They watched in terror as Soul silently extended his hand to the side, a glowing red trident forming at his palm. Before Heart could think to do anything, Soul has grabbed them and slammed them against the wall, knocking what little air they had out of their lungs. They raised their hands up, trying to push Soul away from them, silent tears pouring from their eyes.

Soul raised the trident, directly in front of Heart’s face. Now his anger was obvious, but Heart was too focused on the extremely sharp trident pointed right at their eyes.

“You deserve this.”

The trident plunged into Heart’s face, two prongs right into their eye sockets and the middle one stabbing right in between their eyes. They let out a long, earsplitting scream. They couldn’t see. Of course they couldn’t see. Soul pulled the trident out and let go of Heart, letting them collapse onto the floor. 

Heart held their hands over their eyes. Their hands quickly became covered in blood. Their blood. Their head throbbed, and all they could hear was their own hitched sobs and Soul’s footsteps, headed away from Heart.

“I- I can’t-“ another sob. “I can’t s-see-“

“Don’t think you’re off the hook, just because you’re the one suffocating on his own blood.”

Soul was still there. Talking to Mind, it sounded like. Heart stifled their sobs. Through the haze of pain, panic, and confusion, they managed to make out what Soul was saying.

“Heart wouldn’t shoot you with no reason, regardless of how much they hate you. You clearly provoked them in some way. Which endangers the Whole.”

But of course, Mind couldn’t respond. 

“I don’t think you need these, for now. Not until you learn better.”

Need what?

Heart’s answer seemed to be answered almost immediately—they could hear it, the crunch of bones being snapped in two, the sickening sound of flesh ripping apart—Heart gagged, pushing themselves away from the source of the noise. Something was happening to Mind, something awful.

And it was all their fault, all their fucking fault.

Heart curled up into a ball, their sobs and hiccups growing louder once more. Their face was soaked in tears and blood, the floor growing slick with it. They felt sick, and dizzy, and they were in so much fucking pain. Soon, they fell silent, letting their consciousness escape as they slipped into comforting embrace of numbness.